The Phoenix and the Wolf 2,0
by Khordealis
Summary: A trip around Europe with the Bladebreakers and the unruly Demolition Boys puts a lot of strain on the team captains - especially since they're starting to discover new depths of their feelings towards one another. But will their darks past and fragile hearts make it through the storm they're letting loose? TPATW is back! Revised and reloaded. This is YAOI! No like? No read!
1. Of headaches and hickeys

**Disclaimer: **I do **not** own Beyblade nor it's characters, alright? I write with the sole purpose to entertain.

**Warning:** Contains large amount of cursing, alcohol, violence, **angst** and sexual content. No likey? No read then! **You have been warned.** Additonal warnings can be found at the head of each chapter.

**Rating: M**.

**Summary:** A trip around Europe with the naive Bladebreakers and the unruly Demolition Boyz puts a lot of strain on the team captains. Especially since they are starting to discover new depths of their relationship. And with one of them being a huge slut while under the influence of alcohol, things are bound to get interesting.

**Author: Khordeális**. Any characters that are not Beyblade originals belong solely to me, and are **not** to be copied by anyone.

**Pairing:** Kai/Tala

**Author's note:** This story has been published on here before, under my previous pen-name Lahmia. If you recognize it, then you know why. I have been doing some major editing to all the chapters to correct grammar, plot-holes, and, you know, making sure it flows better than it originally did. It was my first multichapter on here, and I wrote it while manic – and man, it shows!

_Italicized speech_ means spoken in Russian. _Italicized speech_ in regular text means empasis. **Bold**__in _italicized speech_ means emphasis in Russian.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Rei sat in the kitchen of the small apartment Kai had rented for them in Moscow for a week long stay. They had all needed a vacation, and Kai been rather homesick lately (even though he wouldn't admit it). So he had made a few calls, and two days later they had been on their way. Russia was first, and then they would travel to Paris to visit Oliver, followed by a stay in Rome with Enrique, and it looked like Greece would be the last stop before going back home. It was late winter in Russia, blistering cold, and snowstorms broke out every other day. But Kai had been happy, he could tell. The signs of the phoenix's happiness was simply that he didn't scold them for minor mistakes every ten minutes and just shrugged and walked off when Tyson was being annoying. The main factor of his enjoyment seemed to be the Demolition Boyz. To Rei and the others they were still the bad guys, but to Kai they were lifelong friends and the only family he had, now that Voltaire was locked up in prison.

Now, it was nearly eleven a. m., and he was the only one up. This in itself was weird. Their stoic captain always got up before sunrise, and when the rest of them showed up he would be on his fourth cup of strong coffee, reading a newspaper and telling them how late they were for practice or school or whatever. Unless, of course, he hadn't already used his brutal methods of waking them up. He had never, during the time they'd known each other, slept past nine a. m. Rei sighed and sipped his tea. The Russian teas weren't as good as the Chinese ones, but this blend was ok. A noise in the hallway caught his ears and soon the other Bladebreakers showed up. Even Tyson was awake, which was nothing short of a miracle.

"Morning Rei!" Max greeted, cheery as always.

"Morning guys," Rei responed.

Kenny looked around with a slight frown.

"Where's Kai? He promised us a proper sightseeing. Has he gone out already?"

"Yeah, where is old sourpuss?" Tyson inquired.

"I don't know," Rei said and sipped his tea. "I've been up since nine and I haven't seen him."

"Oh great!" Tyson snorted. "He's gone out on one of his little trips again. Let's just hope he doesn't go psycho on us like before at that world championship."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Max said and snapped his fingers. "Didn't Tala and the others call him yesterday? Maybe they went out or something. And he's on his way back."

"Hm," Kenny frowned again. "I don't think he would stay away all night like that. He hates to sleep away, we know that. He want's familiar surroundings or else he just doesn't sleep at all."

"Sooo," Tyson's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Maybe he's here, but still asleep. _Hah!_ Mr Insomnia sleeping later than the rest of us. Priceless!"

"Maybe we oughta investigate," Kenny said. "What if he's gotten sick? It **is** rather cold out there."

Rei nodded and got up from his chair. They proceeded down the hall to the room that belonged to the phoenix. Rei knocked on the dark wooden door. There was no response.

"Weird," he said to the others. Usually they would get a short order to 'bugger off'. He knocked once more, a bit harder. Still no response. "Kai?" he said. "Are you in there?" Not a sound. Rei looked at the others with a concerned face.

"I don't like this," Kenny said. "Open the door, Rei." The others nodded their agreement.

He carefully opened the door. The curtains were closed and so the room was darkened. Sounds of breathing caught their ears. _Someone_ was sleeping in there. Tyson, being who he was, switched on the lights and shouted at the top of his lungs: "_Kai!_ Wake up, you old sourpuss!"

Five voices, coming from different parts of the room, yelled surprised curses in Russian. The Bladebreakers stared in disbelief at the scene. Kai and Tala laid curled up into two irregular heaps sideways across the bed, covering their eyes and venting every curse they ever heard. Bryan was on his stomach on the floor right beneath the double bed, Spencer was cramped up in a stuffed chair in the far corner and Ian fell down from the window seat, all three of them cursing just as bad as the redhead and the bluenette.

"What the fuck?" Kai growled. "Turn that freaking light out right now or I'll kill you!"

Kenny hurriedly did as requested. The phoenix had murder in his hoarse voice.

"What the hell is going on?" Rei asked.

"Shut up, Kitty boy!" Tala whined. "We're trying to die here!"

"Aw fuck, my head!" Ian growled. "Who the fuck turned on the fucking light?"

"Whoever it was, you're dead." Bryan threatened, pulling himself up in to a sitting position, grabbing his head with a loud moan.

"Get in line, Bry," Spencer stated, rubbing his temples with an expression of pure suffering on his pale face.

The Bladebreakers backed a few steps, staring in utter horror at the five cursing Russians. Kai managed to get himself upright, but squinted so hard that his eyes were almost closed. The blue paint on his face was smeared and his hair looked like a haystack. He poked the redhead beside him - causing the older teen to curl up even more.

"Tala, get the fuck up."

"Shut up Kai, and let me die. This shit is too much."

Kai sighed and grabbed the redhead by his collar and forcefully pulled him off the bed. He then got on his feet, swaying a bit. Tala landed on top of Bryan, which caused a stream of curses and insults, before they managed to free themselves from each other and get up on their feet, about as steadily as Kai. Ian and Spencer approached the other three, clinging on to each other for support. Or rather, Ian was clinging to Spencer's waist to keep himself up, and Spencer was trying to pry him off and at the same time keep his own balance. The five Russians started to move towards the door - murmuring about needing a shower, badly, and trying to establish an order in which to do so. Suddenly a clinking noise was heard along with a curse from Tala.

"Aw, shit, my foot! Who put the freaking bottle there?"

"Dunno," Bryan said. "Is there anything left in it?"

"Don't think so."

"Then I don't give a fuck."

The Bladebreakers were still in shock at the sight. They had _never_ seen their extremely disciplined and collected captain in this state before, let alone the other four. Tala's red hair looked like a flaming version of a porcupine with a bad hair day, Bryan's jacket was torn at the shoulder and generally creased, Spencer looked like he'd stuck a finger in an electrical socket and Ian was in pretty much the same state. It was Kenny who outed the question on everyone's minds.

"Are you _drunk_?"

"What time is it?" Ian asked.

Max checked his watch.

"Five past eleven."

The Russians seemed to contemplate this for a moment. Then Tala shook his head, and whimpered when the sudden movement caused a sharp flash of pain to run through his head.

"No, now we're just hungover."

"But it was a fucking great night!" Spencer grinned.

"Yeah?" Kai said. "Do you remember anything?"

"Eh... No, nothing after Ruby's..." He looked over at the bluenette. "Do you?"

"Fragments. Tala?"

"No freaking clue what happened after midnight." The redhead looked over at Bryan and Ian, both of them looking concentrated.

"I think Kai won at pool," Ian said, scratching his head. "After that...not a damn thing."

"I don't even remember playing pool," Bryan sighed. "When did we do that?"

"You didn't," Tala snorted. " You were passed out on a couch."

"Oh... Right."

They had now made it to the door where the Bladebreakers were still standing, staring. The conversation suggested that this had happened before. But they were all underage, so how was it possible for them to get wasted in public bars like that? And how did their captain manage to utter so many curses? For one who hardly even spoke, he sure knew a lot of bad words. They had _never_ heard him use such language before. Kai managed to send one of his death glares towards his team mates and they got the message. Their team captain had a vile temper when he had a _normal_ headache, and so they were certainly not going to press their luck now. Especially since there were four other (presumptively evil) Russians present, seemingly in the same vicious mood. They quickly retreated to the kitchen and sat down around the table, listening to the sounds of struggle in the hall. A triumphant sound, belonging to Kai, was heard and the bathroom door slammed shut. Four voices cursed in Russian and fists pounded on the wood.

"Kai!" They heard Bryan shouting in panic. "Open the fucking door before Tala throws up on the carpet!"

"He's not joking!" Ian shouted. "He's turning greenish here!"

The door quickly opened and shut again just as quickly. Footsteps approached the kitchen and the remaining Russian bladers sat down on the empty chairs, trying to avoid the sunlight. Their eyes were red and bloodshot, their skin looked very pale and any noise made them stiffen and grab their heads with loud whimpers and moans. Rei threw one glance at them and started to make coffee. Strong coffee. They really looked like they needed it. About ten minutes later Kai emerged from the hall, wearing sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. His hair was still a bit wet, and he looked dreadfully tired. He looked very different without his signature face paint. Softer and more boyish in some way, but the expression on the sharp face sure wasn't. He collapsed on the chair next to Bryan and hid his face in his palm. Rei handed him a cup of scorching hot coffee. Kai took a deep gulp of the liquid without even blinking.

"Jesus fucking christ!" he muttered. "Remind me not to do this too often, ok?"

Bryan looked at him and was just about to reply when something caught his eye.

"Er, Kai?" he said.

"Hn?"

"Who did you make out with last night?"

"Hell if I know. Why?"

"You've got a pretty mean hickey going on here."

"Ah, fucking hell!" the phoenix sighed.

"It's got teethmarks too, you know." Bryan searched his pocket, found a small pocket mirror and held it up to let his friend examine the marks.

"Who the fuck...?" Kai's face went pale as he seemed to realize something. Then he hissed, and his crimson eyes turned homicidal. "_Tala!_" he shouted, making his friends cover their ears and groan in pain. The redhead appeared, wearing a pair of plain black pants and a blue tank top belonging to Kai. The colors made him seem even more dark and evil.

"What?" he asked.

"You rotten slutty piece of shit!" Kai growled. Tala warily approached the table, sitting down next to Max, opposite of the bluenette.

"What did I do? And I'm _not_ slutty."

Kai turned his head, showing the reddish purple mark on his neck. The teethmarks were a perfect arch, and it was only Tala and Kai out of the Russians who had such perfect teeth.

"...Oh," Tala said, blushing a deep shade of pink. "I don't remember shit. Certainly not about that, but... erhm... Sorry?"

Kai looked about ready to strangle him, and their fellow natives were struggling not to start laughing. The Bladebreakers could not believe their eyes. Kai glared at them and raised a finger in warning.

"Not. A. _Word."_

"You guys _made out_?" Tyson, stupid as ever, asked and thereby definitely pushing the _wrong_ button. Kai growled and threw his spoon at the dragon blader, nailing him right between the eyes and causing him to fall off his chair. "Hey! The hell was that for?"

"One more word out of you Tyson, and I'll skin you alive."

Realizing that he had pissed the phoenix off, and not doubting that he would feel a lot of pain if he pushed, he swallowed and shut his mouth. Bryan chuckled, and both Tala and Kai looked at him with identical murderous glares.

"You never know what the hell will happen when you put Tal and Kai together with a wast amount of booze," he grinned.

"Might I remind you of last year," Tala retorted with an icy tone. "When we found you in a gutter, dressed in a mini skirt and platform boots?"

This caused a scarlet blush to appear on the falcon's face.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that again."

"You brought it on yourself Bry-boy."

"Shut your trap, Tal."

"While you two lover boys are at it, I'm gonna hit the shower," Spencer stated. "Kai, got any spare clothes?"

"I guess. Check the wardrobe. Can't guarantee it'll fit, though."

"No matter."

The blonde walked out of the kitchen. Ian had fallen asleep, resting his head on his arms. Kai, Tala and Bryan continued to gulp down their coffee with grim determination. When they'd finished their first cups, they immediately refilled and drank that up as well. They didn't utter a word. The Bladebreakers were still too shocked by their blue-haired captain's state to even dare to speak. About ten minutes later Spencer returned and smacked Ian on the back of his head to wake him up.

"Yo, shorty, go shower. You stink."

"Yeah, but at least my stink is temporary," Ian retorted, but headed for the bathroom.

When all the hungover teens had cleaned themselves up a bit and changed clothes, looking somewhat refreshed, Kenny cleared his throat.

"Er, Kai?"

"What?" the captain snapped.

"Are we still going on that sightseeing?"

"That was today?"

"Yeah!" Tyson exclaimed. "We're leaving tomorrow, remember? You going senile here or what?"

"You did kinda promise, Kai," Max said. "And we can't find our way around here. We can't read Russian."

"And Tyson gets lost even back at home," Rei said with a convincing tone.

"Exactl- Hey!_"_ Tyson tried smacking Rei, but the neko-jin had too sharp reflexes, and caught his wrist in mid air. They looked at their suffering captain, who sighed.

"Just let me go get changed," he said. The smirks on the other Russians' faces was wiped off when Kai pointed at them and said "And don't for a second think _you're_ getting away from this."

"_Asshole_!" Tala snorted. Kai gave him a look that made him shrink in his chair, and he gave up. "Alright! Shit Kai, you don't have to look like you're gonna eat my head for dinner."

Kai pointed to his neck.

"This gives me the freaking right to eat your slutty little _heart_ for dinner, Tala Ivanov. Now go and get dressed, the lot of you. We're leaving in ten."

He exited the kitchen.

Xxx xXx xxX

Four hours later the Bladebreakers felt very much like popsicles on two feet. The Russians however didn't even seem to notice the blistering cold, but they did grow up in it, so they were most likely used to it. They had covered almost every important place in town, and now the Russians had made another stop. Kai pointed to a large open area.

"_Krasnaya ploshchadʹ_ ," he said.

"Krashawhat now?" Tyson asked.

"_Krasnaya ploshchad´,_" Tala repeated.

"What's that in not-Russian?"

"The Red Square, you morons," Bryan sighed. "Shit Kai, you really hang out with these airheads?"

"Hey, who're you callin' an airhead, you thug!"

"Hey kid," Spencer said in a threatening tone. "Don't pick a fight with the evil Russians. You'll regret it."

"Yeah," Ian joined in. "Hungover or not, we can still kick your asses any day of the week."

Kenny turned to Kai, who was observing the quarrel with his usual distant attitude, arms crossed over his chest and looking something like himself again.

"Er, what building is that?" He pointed to a heavily decorated building, with multicolored domes at the tops of slim towers, looking like something out of a fairy tale.

"_Sobor Vasiliya Blazhennogo,_" Kai said, and remembered that Kenny wasn't Russian. Slowly, like speaking to a child, he translated. "The Vasilij Cathedral. St. Basil's Cathedral in English."

"Whoa!" the tech freak burst out. "It's _huge!_"

"Honestly, Kenny," Tala said, rather disappointed. "Haven't you ever seen pictures of it? It's like, well, the _most freaking famous_ building in Russia!"

Kenny blushed a little at the redhead's remark.

"I've seen pictures, but I didn't realize it was that... big."

"Aw, back off, Tala," Rei said. "It _is_ a bit overwhelming when you see it in person. My whole village could fit in it, easily."

"It's getting darker, you guys," Max said, before an argument got started. "And I'm freezing cold. Maybe we oughta call it a day?"

"Freezing cold?" Bryan said, rather surprised. "It only like minus twenty degrees centigrade. And there's no wind."

"Where we come from that's an arctic temperature," Tyson stated. "I'm agreeing with Max."

The Russian teens looked at each other and shrugged.

"Ok," Kai said. "We'll head back then."

As they headed back to their apartment, via a shortcut since the four non-Russian bladers were complaining more by the minute, they passed a small square that was full of kids, beyblading in the gathering darkness. A few of them looked up and recognized the five ex-Abbey teens. Warnings involving the Russian names were shouted and the kids started to withdraw from the square. The subjects of the attention paid no heed to it and just kept walking. The Bladebreakers found it deeply unsettling and threw a few glances over their shoulders as they followed their guides.

"Why were they running away like that?" Max asked.

"Because they're scared of us," Kai said simply. "And besides, it's probably past their curfew anyway. Now will you get a move on?"

"They're scared of you?" Tyson asked. "Aren't you like their idols or something?"

"We are," Tala said. "But we're also the evil crazy cyborg bladers that tried to take over the world. Forgot about that?"

"But how?" It was Rei this time. "I thought you got away from there."

"Yeah, we did, but they don't know that," Bryan said. "And a bad rep is really fucking hard to get rid of."

They reached the street where their apartment was and the other four Russians said goodnight and started walking down the street to their hiding place.

"_You're coming with us tomorrow, right?_" Kai inquired.

"_Da_," Tala replied with a wolfish grin. "_You'll go mad taking care of those morons on your own. We'll be there. Horoshaya noch´, Kai._"[1]

"Night guys," Kai said and gave a wave.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Yep, I got the poor boys drunk. But I figured that, well, they **are** Russian after all, and if the drinking culture there is anything like the one in Sweden (where the vikings come from :P), they've surely been flat out drunk several times before. Abbey or not. And besides I find the image of control freaks no. 1 & 2, Kai and Tala, hideously drunk being extremely funny.

And, you have to admit, seeing Tala planting that huge hickey on Kai would be priceless.

Some of you might think that Kai is a bit out of character, but I can explain that. When I wake up feeling like **that** *pointing at the first scenes* by someone turning on the lights and screaming at the top of their lungs I go all out homicidal. And I think that there's a good likelihood of him doing much the same, considering his charming personality and all.

[1] _Horoshaya noch'_ means 'good night', and _Da_ means 'yes'.

If there are any faults in my Russian translations, **please** let me know in a PM so I can correct them. My Russian is crap, and I willingly admit it.

And their looks...Well, The Bladebreakers are sticking with the first season looks, and Ian too – obviously. The rest of the Demo Boyz are in their older (and in Tala's case, hotter) versions.

Reviews?


	2. Of hearts and hopes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade or it's characters. Got it?

**Warnings:** See chapter one. Additional warnings for this chapter: None.

**xXx xXx xXx**

"_You're such a perv, Tala_," Bryan said once they Demolition Boyz had locked the door of their hideout behind them.

"_Why? The hell are you bitching about, Bry?_"

"_Duh! That __**huge**__ freaking hickey on Kai's neck!_ _He's younger than you, Tala. That makes you a child molester._"

The redhead snorted and swept his fiery red bangs out of his face. They were sitting in the kitchen, Spencer and Ian had both collapsed on the couch, watching tv. Tala looked out the window with a snotty expression. The lights outside reflected in his blue irises, causing them to glow.

"_I am not a perv!_" he said coldly. "_Besides, he would have just shoved me away if he didn't want me to_."

"_Tal, we were all so totally fucking wasted last night that Hitler could have given us a blow job without us thinkin' there was anything strange_." He smiled a lopsided smile. "_And Kai goes all soft and mushy when he's drunk, and you're like the last person he'd beat up for doing that. You took advantage of the situation a bit_."

"_You sound like I fucking raped the guy or somethin'_."

"_I know you, and your preferences. Just control yourself a little, will ya? Shit, I don't even think Kai's interested in guys_."

"_I don't think he's interested in __**anything**__, Bry,_" Tala snorted. "_Have you ever caught the guy redhanded doing something naughty? I sure as hell haven't, and God knows I've been trying. He's either training, meditating, reading or sleeping. And for your information, I'm not interested in our little phoenix. He's not my type._"

Bryan looked at him for a moment and started to chuckle. Tala looked back, an eyebrow arched in question. The lavender-haired teen collected himself, but a smirk lingered on his thin lips.

"_What the hell's so funny?_" Tala snarled.

"_Did you see the looks on the Bladebreakers' faces? Fucking priceless!_" Bryan began laughing at the memory. Tala felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and soon he too started chuckling.

"_Somehow I get the feeling they've never seen him drunk before,_" he said, the amusement glittering in his blue orbs. "_**Or**__ heard him use words like that._"

"_Well, they don't know him like we do. It's fucking embarrassing really_."

"_What?_"

"_He drank more than us, and I think he was the last one to pass out. And he's the __**youngest**__ of us_."

"_Point_. _That's depressing for real, Bry._"

Tala yawned and stretched himself. He felt a bit cold, and really shitting tired. The headache hadn't gone away during the day and he was still battling waves of nausea whenever the smell of food reached his nostrils. Maybe a bath would make it better. Tala loved to bathe, much to the displeasure of his friends. Because once he got in the tub, he could be in it for hours. And there was only one bathroom in the apartment. Problems? Yeah, you could say that. It was really nice of Kai to hook them up with the place and making sure that their identities were kept secret until they could safely relocate, but in all honesty, he should have taken the Demolition Boyz's ridiculously small bladders in consideration. One single drop of water would have Spencer in the bathroom every twenty minute. Dead annoying. Yeah, a bath should do the trick. He got up from his chair, and remembered their agreement on the subject.

"_I'm taking a bath_," he shouted. "_Anyone who has to go, do it now, cause I'm locking the door in five minutes!_"

Spencer and Ian immediately headed for the bathroom, arguing about who needed to piss the most. Bryan took the opportunity to take control of the couch and the remote. A documentary on exotic birds caught his interest. The falcon was almost childishly fascinated with his bitbeast's kins. He dreamed about owning a pet store, specialising in birds, but Tala was the only one who knew about it. The others would just laugh, and then Bryan would be pissed, and from there things usually only went downhill. Fast. Ian would normally use every foul trick in the book, blaming his height - or lack of it - to somehow justify a bite in the leg or a kick in the nuts. Spencer and Bryan would catch each other in various deadly grips and locks, and then Tala would have to try and break them apart without being dragged in to the mess himself. And when _Tala_ snapped, the others ran for the hills.

He went in to the room he shared with Bryan and rummaged through his bags to find clean clothes. His style of fashion hadn't changed much since the Abbey days. He still preferred his famous with/blue/orange outfit, but now that he had a choice in the matter, he had started to wear other things as well. After some rummaging around, he found a pair of white sweatpants and a tight green t-shirt, which would be ok for now. It wasn't like he planned on staying up late, and since the only one who knew where they were hiding was Kai, they weren't really expecting visitors anyway.

He went out in the hallway and found Ian leaving the bathroom. Spencer was battling Bryan for the remote in the living room, and so he had control of his favourite room of the house. Humming a low tune he locked the door and turned on the water, setting the temperature to very hot. While waiting for the tub to fill up, he brushed his fiery hair, trying to remove the tanlges from it. It hurt like a bitch and he cursed under his breath for not having hair like Bryan or Kai. They never needed a brush, their hair would just... _behave_ anyway. And Spencer and Ian simply didn't care how theirs looked. He, on the other hand had to brush his _twice_ a day to remain in control of the red mass. He threw a glance at the water to find it at the level he wanted. Smiling he turned off the flow and got undressed. Slender as he looked, there was no missing how ripped he really was, and his muscles danced under the pale skin as he moved. With a loud sigh of relief he sank into the scorching water, allowing himself to completely submerge for a moment. After resurfacing, he just laid there with his eyes closed, feeling his tense muscles relax. The throbbing headache began to loosen it's merciless grip on him and he smiled. Out of nowhere the image of Kai's purple neck appeared before him. The perfect arch of teethmarks leaving no doubt as to who the perpetrator was. Tala blushed at the memory. If the hickey had gotten that bad, that meant he'd been at it for a while. So, why hadn't Kai stopped him? The phoenix abhorred physical contact, whether drunk or sober, that was a proven fact. Had he really been so wasted that he couldn't even put up a fight about the invasion of his personal space? It wasn't like Kai. But Tala couldn't – as he had said earlier that day – remember a single thing after midnight. He had no recollection whatsoever of how they got back to Kai's place from where ever it was they'd been (probably kicked out of).

A small part of him thought – before he could stop himself – that it was a big accomplishment to make such a mark on the stoic phoenix blader, and that he actually wished he could remember putting it there. If nothing else to see the bluenette's reaction.

(( _Shit! What the __**fuck**__ am I thinking? Tala Ivanov, get a fucking grip on yourself, you perv!_)) He smacked himself across the forehead with his right palm, as if to beat some sense in to his head.

(( _He's not even my type... Nope! Not at all! Uh-uh! … Er, stop lying to yourself, you denying shithead, he is your type. __**So.**__ Your. Type. The very __**definition**__ of it._))

"_Motherfucking piece of shitting situation!_" he growled, hitting himself on the side of his head repeatedly. "_This is Kai Hiwatari, we're talking about! My best damn friend in the world and my little brother. I am sooo not interested in him. Uh-uh, not one bit!_"

((… _Yeah, right. I'm __**so**__ screwed._))

As far as Tala knew, the dual blue-haired boy was a die-hard asexual. He had never shown the slightest bit of interest in girls _or_ boys, and the likelihood of him being a virgin was stupendous. Tala had caught all the other Demolition Boyz doing naughty stuff, more times than he wanted to remember, but that had not _once_ happened with Kai. If it wasn't for the fact that they'd shared shower rooms in the Abbey since they were kids, he would have doubted that the boy even _had_ those parts of the male body. Which led him to think of the other teen's body in general. It was a temptation, almost too big to handle. Balanced and proud, flexible and strong. The way his muscles moved over his arms and torso, causing every girl and gay guy within thirty feet to drool. The sharp lines of his chin and cheeks and the crimson orbs that seemed sometimes to be glowing. And the phoenix didn't even seem to be aware of it. Raving fangirls just got a killer glance as he walked away from them, causing his other teammates (Tyson) to cry about not having as much fans as 'the cold hearted Russian bastard'. Girls liked bad guys, that was a fact. And Kai was a bad guy by any definition. He was cold, arrogant, condescending, priggish, egocentric, a know-it-all and a damn right jerk sometimes. But there was another side to him. One that only a selected few – The Demolition Boyz being ninety five percent of it – had ever seen. He was fiercely loyal, a good listener, kept secrets better than Fort Knox kept treasures, extremely intelligent, could crack hilarious jokes when no one expected it, and never broke a promise to anyone once he made one. He'd do anything for his friends without really expecting anything in return. And Tala loved him for it. Perhaps in more ways than he cared to admit to himself at that moment.

Xxx xXx xxX

Kai looked at the mess that was his room and sighed. There was several empty, or semi empty bottles of vodka lying here and there. He even spotted a bottle containing traces of a viciously green liquid. No wonder they felt like dying that morning. Rule no. 1: don't mix alcohol together. Bad stuff can happen. Like dying from alcohol poisoning. The other four Russians had rummaged through his closet in their search for clothes, with the result that all the garments they hadn't wanted to wear laid all over the floor and the bed. Kai, being a fan of order, gritted his teeth at the whole scene. It smelled absolutely disgusting in there and he held his breath while walking across the small room to open the window. He then proceeded to clean up the mess they'd made. All the clothes were packed in to his travel-bag, the bottles were relocated to the trashes. The rest of his team were sitting around the kitchen table, and Kenny and Rei looked inquiring at him. The phoenix sighed and sat down opposite of them, next to Max, who was currently coming down from a sugar high after trying out some Russian sweets.

"What?" he said, somewhat despondent. His headache was returning, he was tired as hell and he felt like shit. Traveling tomorrow would be such a blast. Not.

"How much did you guys drink last night?" Kenny asked.

The team captain shrugged, making his teammates' eyes widen.

"Have you been that drunk before?" Rei asked, a little shocked.

"I'm Russian, Rei," he deadpanned. "The reasons why the tea here isn't good is because we drink other things instead."

"...Oh, right," the feline said and looked at his teammates. "You just caught us by surprise, that's all." He gave the bluenette a faint smile, that went totally unnoticed because said bluenette was currently rubbing his temples, his crimson eyes closed.

"You want something to eat, Kai?" Max asked. "We were just about to make dinner."

The Russian teen's face went a little greenish and he shook his head.

"You should eat _something,"_ Kenny tried to persuade him. "You only had coffee today, and that was like six hours ago."

"I don't enjoy throwing up all that much, Kenny," he retorted. "Trust me, I've been through this shit before."

"I've got a question for you," Tyson said.

"Hn?"

"You guys are all underage right?"

"Hn."

"Then how the hell did you manage to get that wasted? In public bars, too."

The phoenix murmured something under his breath, not looking at the navy-haired boy.

"What was that?"

"Because I own two of them!" the phoenix snapped."And they're too scared of us to object in the others!"

He didn't even bother to look up at his team. He could picture their shock pretty well. The silence crowded the room, he enjoyed it cause it didn't hurt his head. The headache was really getting worse. He stood up, a bit unsteady, and walked over to the medicine cabinet where he found a bottle of painkillers. His teammates were watching him as if he would fall over any second. He did his best to ignore that invasion of his integrity while he read the the label where the recommended dosage was printed. He shook out double that and put the bottle back in the cabinet before pouring himself a glass of water. The glances of his concerned team were digging in to his back and he let out a low curse. He quickly swallowed the pills all at the same time with a gulp of water.

"I'm not going to pass out here, if that's what you're thinking," he stated.

"Sorry, Kai," Rei, of course, apologised. "But you really don't look to good. You're pale as a sheet and you're not even steady on your feet."

"I'm fine." He turned and walked past them. "I'm going to sleep. See you guys in the morning." He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Tyson. "And if you come near my room again, I'll make you wish you never been born."

With that he left them to take cover in his own room and get in bed before he _did_ fall over. The cold Moscow air had invaded the room, and it was absolutely freezing in there. But Kai didn't mind. It might help his throbbing head recover. He closed the window and closed the curtains, making his way to the bed in the dark. He set his alarm clock on six a. m. and closed his eyes. With his right hand he rubbed the side of his neck where the horrible reddish purple mark was situated.

(( _Damned Tala! Leaving a hickey like that on me. It's fucking unbelievable. __**I'm**__ fucking unbelievable. I hate when people touch me, and yet I ended up with this thing on my neck. Why the hell didn't I smack him or something? Did I do __**anything**__ at all? Fuck these black outs! I am not getting that drunk again. __**Ever!**_..._ Yeah, right, Kai. Do you really believe that?_))

He growled and hid his head under the pillow, hitting himself through it. The only comfort was that neither Tala nor the other Demolition Boyz had any remembrance of it. Cause he would make them all pay in blood if they had let Tala do this without trying stop him.

((_And now my sexuality is questioned by my team. A subject that is __**none**__ of their business. The way they've been looking at me and Tala the entire day is just...disgusting. Tala is __**not **__my boyfriend. I couldn't get that guy no matter how hard I tried. Because he is witty and funny Tala Ivanov, and I'm the dark and brooding mood-spoiler Kai Hiwatari. __**Wait!**__ What the hell did I just think? Aw,__** fuck!**__ Go to sleep, Kai. Sleep it off. You're obviously delusional and still drunk._ ))

After a while the strong painkillers kicked in and he drifted off to sleep, for once without dreaming.

Xxx xXx xxX

In the kitchen the remaining Bladebreakers looked at each other. Kai was sort of back to his usual charming self, but his odd change of personality and way of speaking from that morning lingered in their heads. Kenny shook his head.

"How did they even get alcohol in to the Abbey?" he said to no one in particular. Max arched a brow.

"What do you mean, Chief?" he asked.

"He said that he had been through this before. And judging by their conversation this morning, it's not the first time they've been drunk like that. And since they have been kept in there up 'til very recently it's obvious that they drank in there. 'Cause I don't think they were allowed _out_ to _drink_."

"Oh. Yeah. That is a bit strange," the blonde agreed. "And did you see how many bottles there was? How did they even manage to stand after that?"

"I don't know," Rei said. "But I can tell you, seeing Kai hungover was the last thing I expected to happen in this life. He's never even looked at alcohol during the time he's been with us."

"And I think another thing is really weird," Tyson said.

"What?" Kenny asked.

"Kai absolutely despise being touched, as we all know. But I've never seen a hickey like that, ever. So. How did it get there?"

"Yeah, that _is_ weird," Rei said with a frown. "He didn't seem too happy about it though."

"Pfft! He was just covering up, I think."

"I don't think so, Ty," Max said. "He really looked about ready to murder Tala."

"I don't think Kai is into guys," Rei said. "And I also don't think that it's very nice of us to discuss his sexuality behind his back. It's really none of our business. Now, I'm making dinner."

The next day they were standing at one of the gates of Moscow's huge airport, waiting to board the plane headed for Paris. Kai had woken them up at eight, rather brutally, and showed no signs what so ever of the horrible state from the day before. He stood the usual ten feet away from the others, his arms crossed over his chest and his signature displeased look planted steady on his face. The blue triangles were perfect as always. It was now almost noon, and the plane was scheduled to leave in an hour. The Bladebreakers were used to airports, after all they had traveled all over the world together, but the sheer size of this one made them feel small and lost – and they followed their captain like ducklings. Kai had managed to ditch them for a while, and when they found him he was on the phone, apparently scolding someone on the other end, with a tone that would have the devil himself cowering in a corner.

Now, as said, they were patiently awaiting the boarding. Kai, on the other hand, showed signs of both stress and irritation – checking his cell phone's clock every five minutes and muttering in Russian. Suddenly there was a slight commotion further down the hall. People scurried away from something that was approaching, casting anxious looks over their shoulders. Soon a loud conversation in Russian reached their ears. Four familiar voices were bickering as they came closer, and they recognised several words from the previous morning, no doubt swear words of the fouler nature. One lavender and one dirty blonde hair appeared over the crowd, soon followed by a bright red one as the people got out of their way. And last a dark violet one made the quartet that was the Demolition Boyz complete.

"_Zatknis' Bryan, ty sun suka, prezhde chem ya ub'yu tebya!_" [1] They heard Tala growl. The lavender-haired teen growled back and was just about to reply when the redhead caught sight of Kai. "Hey Kai! We're here, phoenix boy, just as promised."

Kai snorted.

"You're late. The plane leaves in an hour, boarding starts in twenty."

"We would have gotten here sooner," Spencer said. "If _someone_ hadn't taken forever to get dressed and brush his freaking hair." He looked at Tala, who was glowering back at him.

"Just because _you_ enjoy looking like a freaking hay-stack caught in a blizzard, doesn't mean that everyone does. And besides, my hair mats like crazy. I _have_ to brush it."

Tyson's mouth shaped a perfect 'o' as he stared at the Russians.

"You've gotta be kidding me, Kai!" he blurted out. "_They're_ coming with us? Aw, hell no!"

"They need to get out of Russia, Tyson. And besides, it oughta teach you ti get over your prejudices."

"Don't worry, kid," Bryan said with a smile that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but was, in Tyson's mind, the scariest thing he'd ever seen. "We'll be nice."

**Xxx xXx xxX**

[1] "_Zatknis' Bryan, ty sun suka, prezhde chem ya ub'yu tebya_" means "Shut up Bryan, you son of a bitch, before I kill you!" Tala is being as eloquent as ever.

Oh, and about their bad language. It's hardly a secret that yours truly curses this much, and more. To put it bluntly, I curse like all flying hell, and if I can make it work with the characters (which I generally do), they will curse like all flying hell as well. Besides, I really don't think that our five little Russians are very well mannered when it comes to language. Which is probably why Kai doesn't speak that much.


	3. Of planes and patés

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**xXx xXx xXx**

Halfway into the three hour flight between Moscow and Paris there was a lot of different emotions floating in the air around the two world class blading teams. The Demolition Boyz were excited, reminding one of kids during Christmas, talking fast and happily in their native tongue. The Bladebreakers (well, most of them anyway) were not stupid, they understood perfectly well that the other four teens were experiencing freedom for the first time in their lives, and simply could not wait to see the world they had been shut out of for so long. But they also knew that these bladers were as predictable as a blizzard in late winter Russia. And the fear reeking out of the surrounding passengers only added to their feeling of uneasiness. Kenny was probably enjoying the flight the least. He was placed between Bryan and Spencer. They were joking around with each other and occasionally peeking over Kenny's shoulder to see what he was doing. Across the aisle from them sat Tala, Kai and Rei. The wolf had quickly claimed the window seat, and had been looking out since they got in the air. Kai sat in the middle, his Ipod sealing him off into a world of his own, like every time they traveled. Rei sat closest to the aisle, trying to read a book, but being constantly interrupted by Tyson and Max in the seats in front of them. They tried to get Ian, who had also stolen the window seat, to move so that they could look out too. But the short, violet-haired teen ignored them. And now they tried to get support from the older teen, since Kenny was scared half to death between the two intimidating Russians, and Kai didn't even see what was going on, or at least it didn't seem that way. Not many things really went unnoticed by the bluenette, as they had experienced several (painful) times before. But he seemed content with leaving the two rival teams get on each others nerves as long as no one bothered _him._

Rei started to lose his patience, but the second before he replied to Tyson's latest begging, Kai let out a sigh beside him, took off his headphones and looked at the younger boy.

"Tyson, stop acting like a five-year-old. You've been on a plane hundreds of times. Ian haven't. Let him look."

"But Kai..." Max protested.

"No."

"You're such a bastard, Kai," Tyson snorted.

"No, I'm just more mature than you. But then again, so is every three-year-old on the planet."

Tyson's reply to that comment went unheard, due to the headphones being placed back over Kai's ears and the volume being demonstratively turned up. Tyson sulked for the rest of the trip, and Max started to reach one of his famous sugar-highs, and thereby causing the flight attendants a lot of stress as he bounced back and forth through the plane.

They touched down in Paris ahead of schedule, the sun shining bright through the large windows of the airport. There was no snow on the ground here, the Bladebreakers noticed with relief. Russia was beautiful in many ways, but all that snow... Let's just say they could manage without it. They got their luggage and headed for the main entrance. Kai and Tala joined forces to get hold of taxis to get them to the hotel. It was another surprise to the Bladebreakers that their captain spoke perfect French.

Xxx xXx xxX

The receptionist at the hotel respectfully greeted Kai as 'Monsieur Hiwatari', and hurried to get hold of staff members to carry their luggage up to their rooms. She seemed so overly joyed to see him that she almost forgot to give them their key cards. Kai solved her problem by simply taking them and handing them out to his friends, as distant as ever. As they were escorted from the lobby to the elevators, the receptionist gave a wave and said in English:

"It's such a pleasure to have you in our hotel, monsieur Hiwatari. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call."

"Merci beaucuop, mademoiselle," Kai said over his shoulder, polite but not warm.

"Monsieur Hiwatari?" Tyson said in the elevator. "Why do they call you that? In that formal tone too."

"I've been here before," the phoenix said dismissively. For the rest of the way up he said nothing. Tala and his team were admiring the luxury of the hotel, and repeated over and over how out of place they felt. They reached their floor and got out, following the hotel porter down the hall to their rooms. They turned a corner and a middle-aged woman, in expensive designer clothes and a terrifying make-up, bumped straight in to Ian, causing him to fall over.

"Mon dieu!" she said in surprise. "Excusez-moi, little boy. I didn't see you there." She looked at the rest of the group. "You should take better care of your little brother, and not let him walk so far to the side from you."

"_Little brother_?" Ian spat. "Hey lady, I'm seventeen."

"Aw, how sweet," she said, failing to see the threatening glare coming from the violet-haired teen, and the warning looks coming from the others. "It's nothing wrong with being the baby of the bunch. I'm sure that your brothers can look after you."

Ian growled, and Tala hurried to pull out his passport, holding it in front of the woman. Her eyes widened as she saw his birth date. Yes, he was _indeed_ seventeen (but the name was made up). She apologized and hurried away towards the elevators. Ian let out a long string of very inappropriate words, got back up and signed for the others to get a move on. The Demolition Boyz were trying hard not to laugh, because they knew that Ian's height was his constant source of frustration. If anyone said the wrong thing about it, and that differed from day to day, he would be _extremely_ pissed off. The best thing to do was simply not to mention it _at all_, if you wanted to live.

"Here you go, monsieur. Hiwatari," said the hotel porter when they reached two doors at the end of a long hallway. "Number 1214 has got five beds. Number 1215 has four. Each room has two bathrooms. Just as you requested. Enjoy your stay."

Kai nodded and the porters placed their bags neatly beside the beds and then quietly left the room. Excited shouts came from the neighboring room, and Kai let a hint of a smile touch his lips. Tala obviously liked the luxury. It was the best he could do for now. When they got back home he would help them to get a place of their own, and some kind of normal job. Money wasn't really a problem for Kai, and for his friends he would gladly go bankrupt without regretting it one bit. They had been there for him through the hell that was the Abbey, they knew everything about him and still cared about him. Just as he did for them. They had kept each other sane through hell and back, and even now they drew their strength from one another. Strength to stay alive and never give up.

The Bladebreakers still thought of them as evil people, but Kai knew them better than that. They were, of course, seriously messed up in the heads after all they'd been through, but they weren't evil. His team knew nothing of the real meaning of the word. _Boris_ was evil. _Voltaire_ was evil. They had done things to people that were beyond description, things that he could never tell the naive bladers he led, because they couldn't even begin to comprehend it.

"Whoa!" Tyson exclaimed when they looked around the room. "How can you even afford this, Kai? This must cost like ten thousand bucks a night or something!"

"It's no big deal," Kai said and picked up his bag, to put it on the bed closest to the window.

"No big deal?" Max shouted. "What do you mean, no big deal? There's nine of us, and we're staying for ten days!"

"Oh, come on guys," Rei said. "Mr. Dickenson probably helped out some. Right, Kai?"

"No."

Kai left the room, and went into the next one to shut Tala up before he scared the whole floor away. The Bladebreakers stared at each other. Then they stared at the room. It was big, for one. The yellowish ocher wallpaper was obviously of the more expensive sort. The beds had beautifully carved headboards, in a dark wood that almost glowed red in the sunlight. There was also a large couch and two arm chairs in a creamy white color situated around a low table in the same type of wood as the beds. A large flat screen tv was placed in a corner. It wasn't heavily decorated, just a few bouquets of flowers in designer vases here and there, and a few abstract paintings hanging on the walls. But the very air in it breathed luxury and money.

"It would seem like there's a lot we don't know about Kai," Max said. "We couldn't afford this room for a single night, and he's paying for nine people. For ten days."

"Yeah, what did he do?" Tyson asked suspiciously. "Rob a bank or something?"

"Come on, Tyson," Kenny said. "Can you imagine Kai walking in with a gun and robbing a bank?"

"He wouldn't need a gun, Chief. He would just have to glare, and they'd give him every single penny they had."

"He's not _that_ scary, Tyson," Rei sighed.

"Yes, he is."

The Demolition Boyz had taken the usual look around the room and now sat on their respective beds, looking quite amused. Tala had thrown himself at Kai's neck and clung on like a baby koala, shouting thank you's in his ear. The phoenix was trying to pry him off and shut him up, with little or no success. When it started ringing in his ear from the high pitched sound, he sighed and slammed his elbow right in the redhead's stomach. Tala folded like a piece of paper, whimpering. But he did shut up, and let go of Kai.

"_Still got the skills_," Bryan grinned.

"_We could have helped you out_," Ian smirked.

"_Glad you told me that now, you morons_," Kai snorted. He looked at Tala who had sat down on the floor, pouting. "_When I say ' get the fuck off me', I mean it._"

"_Shit, you can really be such a damned bitch, Kai,_" Tala said.

"_And you can really be such a __**homeless**__ little slut, if you don't pull yourself together. Your damn howling probably scared half the freaking hotel away._"

The other three Demolition Boyz started laughing at Tala's blushing face. Kai reached out his hand and pulled him back up on his feet. The redhead glowered at his team, and was just about to give a snotty reply when a knock on the door interrupted them. Spencer went to open it and found the Bladebreakers standing in the hall outside. He grunted and let them in.

"Kai," Tyson whined. "Let's go eat something before I die of starvation."

"You ate on the plane," Kai said with an arched brow.

"Growing guys need food."

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's go."

Xxx xXx xxX

The dining hall of the hotel was probably the most expensively decorated room in the entire hotel. The walls were a deep shade of scarlet, with big black patterns painted across them. The curtains were a darker red than the walls, tied back with thick, twined golden strings. Despite the dark color scheme, the dining hall was light and airy. The table cloths were the finest crisp linen, the cutlery were pure silver. From the high ceiling hung crystal chandeliers, and the staff's white and black clothes were spotless. The headwaiter himself showed them to their table, situated in a corner – away from all the noise in the rest of the room. Immediately after they sat down, a small crowd of waiters showed up to hand them the menus, and asked what they preferred to drink. Much to the displeasure of the Demolition Boyz, Kai ordered sodas for all of them. The waiters left them alone to choose what they wished to eat.

"Sodas?" Tala said, skeptically.

Kai looked up at him through his bangs and arched a brow.

"Yes. Sodas."

"Come on!"

"After the other day I'm not stupid enough to provide you with alcohol, Tala. And besides, you're still underage." He looked back down at his menu. Tala pouted.

"_Mudak._" [1]

"_S__hlyuha__._" [2]

"Er, Kai?" Max said. "Could you tell me what 'pâté de fois gras' is?"

"Something disgusting," the phoenix answered. "It's considered a delicacy in France."

"Ok. But what is it?"

"Paté made out of the cooked liver of force-fed geese."

"Ew, gross!"

"Hn."

"How about these...'Escargots a lá Provencale?' What's that?" Tyson asked.

"Snails."

"_Huh?_"

"Snails."

"That is _so_ gross!"

The phoenix nodded and kept studying his menu before nodding to himself and putting it down on the table.

"Is there anything that isn't gross in this menu, Kai?" Kenny asked.

"Their 'ragoût de fruits de mer' is quite good, if I remember correctly. "

"And what is that?"

"Seafood stew."

"Oh. Right. I'll go with that then."

They made their decisions after a few more such questions, and as soon as the last menu was put down on the table, a waiter appeared - seemingly out of nowhere. Kai made their orders and the young man hurried off to the kitchen. Two other young men showed up with their drinks, apologizing for the delay. Kai said something in French that made them go pale, apologize once more and then leave them alone as fast as they could. Tala smirked.

"You really have a way with people, phoenix boy," he said, blue eyes glimmering with humor.

"Hn. They aren't hired to take fifteen minutes to get sodas," the dual blue-haired teen answered calmly.

"Especially not to you."

"I doubt they will do it again."

"After _that_ comment, no." Tala chuckled. "You scared the shit out of them."

"It happens."

The Demolition Boyz laughed out loud, and the Bladebreakers couldn't help but smiling even though they didn't understand what their captain had said to the poor staff. But then again, they didn't have to. They recognized that creepy tone of voice, and were happy that it, for once, wasn't aimed at them. The food came shortly after, and the smell was mouthwatering. And the difference in choice of food was quite amusing. The Russian teens, except Kai, went with meat dishes. The Bladebreakers were divided into fish and chicken dishes. The portions were huge, and the food so carefully arranged on the snow-white plates it almost looked like edible art. Their eating techniques differed a lot as well. Spencer, Ian and Bryan ate the food with a ferocity that made the others wonder if they had been starved for the last year or so. Tala ate slowly, tasting every mouthful to the fullest before swallowing. Kai ate without showing any sign of either liking or disliking. The Bladebreakers ate cautiously, still not entirely certain that it didn't contain weird things, best not eaten by non-French people. It was however absolutely delicious, and they ate until their stomachs just refused to let them take another bite. No one - not even Tyson, to everyone's surprise - took up on the offer for desert. They stayed in the dining hall for half an hour, trying to persuade their bodies to move after the eating frenzy.

"I'm gonna be freaking obese by the time we leave here," Ian said and rubbed his stomach.

"Not a good idea, Ian," Tala said. "With your height, you'd look like a meatball. I don't want to _roll_ you along for the rest of the trip."

"Hey, shut your trap, you skinny twerp!"

Tala stuck his tongue out at the violet-haired boy next to him. Ian growled and was about to jump at him, but Spencer took him by the shoulder and held him firmly in his chair. The short teen spat and hissed, his lips pulled back over his sharp teeth. Tala looked coolly at him.

"It seems like _someone_ has some anger management issues."

"Tala," Kai said calmly. "Behave yourself."

The wolf looked at him and pouted. Kai quickly looked away.

(( _Goddamnit! Why does he have to be so fucking cute when he's pouting like that? Pull yourself together for Christ's sake, before you start blushing like some silly girl. You gotta keep yourself under control here, Kai. It's not a good idea to go all lovesick now. You've got eight airheads to look after, remember? And Tala is way out of your reach, and you know it._))

Tala remained quiet for a while, observing the phoenix across the table. He sat like he always did, arms crossed over his chest, staring into space with a bored look on his face. His slate blue bangs shaded his face, just as his black lashes shaded his crimson eyes.

((_I can't believe he doesn't realize just how freaking handsome he is! He's so beautiful, it's hard to keep myself under control. These years we spent apart made me forget how stunning he is in person. The one who gets him is so lucky. I only wish it was __**me**__ though._))

A tall man with dark brown hair, wearing a gray suit and carrying a small briefcase, approached the table. Kai looked up at him.

"Bonsoir, monsieur Hiwatari," he greeted. "Perhaps you remember me? I'm Arnaud Clarý, manager of this hotel. We spoke on the phone earlier."

Kai nodded.

"What can I do for you, monsieur Clarý?" he asked.

"I wish to apologize for the behavior of Célestin and Jean. They only started working here last month, and to see you here made them a bit nervous."

"_Nerves_ caused them to take fifteen minutes to get sodas?" Kai questioned.

"Ah, well. They tried to get someone else to do it for them. But the older waiters were all busy."

Kai snorted. The manager looked a bit nervous himself.

"I hope that their mistake does not interfere with our business?"

Kai looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No," he said, finally. "The agreement is still valid."

The man almost beamed.

"I'm glad. Now, I took the liberty of bringing the papers with me, if you would want to sign them?"

He opened his briefcase and pulled out a small stack of papers, contracts, by the look of it. The other teens leaned closer to see. Kai took his time and read every line thoroughly before nodding and accepting the expensive pen monsieur Clarý handed to him. He signed each paper with a smooth signature.

"Welcome to the 'Regal Hotels' family, monsieur Clarý," he said and shook the man's hand.

"Merci beaucoup, monsieur!" the manager smiled. "We shall work hard to live up to your expectations. Is there anything else I can do for you now?"

"We are supposed to meet with Oliver tomorrow. Could you get a hold of him for us?"

"Oliver, the beyblader?"

"The same."

"Certainly."

The man nodded and hurried off. The Bladebreakers as well as the Demolition Boyz stared at him.

"Yes?" he said.

"Did you just _buy_ a hotel?" Tyson asked.

"I did."

"How? Why? And how the hell could you afford it? This place is huge!" Max exclaimed.

"How? I signed a contract. Why? The 'Regal Hotels' line has been looking to establish in Paris for years. How could I afford it? The Hiwatari Corps has a large fund of money."

"Hiwatari Corps?" Kenny asked. "You own a business?"

"Hn."

"But, how? You grew up in the Abbey. How can you own a business?"

"I inherited it from my father."

"So," Max asked. "You're like a millionaire?"

"Something like that."

"Why haven't you told us?" Tyson demanded.

"First, because it's none of your business. Second, because it's not important. Money can not help you to be a good blader."

Tyson groaned.

"Why do I even _bother_ with you?" he complained.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Aw, Tala likes luxury. Who's surprised to hear **that**?

'Merci beaucoup' means 'Thank you very much'

'Mademoiselle' means 'Ms.' (Madame = Mrs.)

'Monsieur' means 'Mr.'

'Mon Dieu' means 'My God'

'Excusez-moi' means 'excuse me'

'Bonsoir' means 'good evening'

[1] _Mudak_ means 'asshole' in Russian. (_Zhopa_ means 'ass', but 'assholes' is translated to _Zhopy._ A bit confusing, I can admit.)

[2] _Shlyuha _means 'slut'.

Can you feel the love?


	4. Of meds and museums

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**xXx xXx xXx**

The warm, early spring sun rose over Paris. Kai sat on the window seat and watched it come up. He had already been sitting there for hours. He wished for a cigarette, even though he didn't smoke. But the wrapped sticks of tobacco always seemed to calm people's nerves. And he _needed_ something relaxing - he was tensed like a steel spring. He had thought about taking a dose of his Zopiclone_(1)_, but had decided against it. They did knock him out completely for at least a few hours, but the side effects were really nasty. The headaches, dizziness, memory losses and the tingling in his arms and legs he could endure. But the hallucinations and the nightmares were absolute hell. The head doctor at the BBA had prescribed it to him after they had tried several other pills to fight his insomnia, all of them proving useless. He could go days without sleeping more than an hour or so. That was the real reason why he was always up at the crack of dawn. When he slept, he was haunted by memories, flash backs from the Abbey, and horrid nightmares that would have him wake up in panic and anguish, covered in sweat and his heart beating like a sledge hammer in his chest for hours afterwards. The doctor had strictly ordered him to take them _only_ when he had to, and not make a habit out of it. They were very addictive, and he wasn't allowed to drive because of them. And his team didn't even know he took them. _Or_ that he had gotten a diagnosis for his symptoms. PTSD, the doctor had called it. Kai would _never_ admit to it, he didn't want them to see that weakness. Yes, he considered it a weakness. Mr. Dickinson knew, of course (he knew everything), but no one else was to ever find out about it.

His eyes burned from the lack of sleep and a headache was developing fast. Despite that, he had his Ipod on, trying to concentrate on the music, and not his thoughts. That was proving to be difficult. A certain redhead occupied his mind, and feelings were stirring in him. Feelings that he had denied and kept locked away for a long time. But now, when the wolf was so close and not a memory from his past, the feelings had come back to slap him in the face. The incident with the hickey two nights before, was most likely the cause of it. It had taken on a wonderful blueish green and yellow tone now, but it looked more like someone had tried to strangle him, than the result of Tala's mouth assaulting his neck. His hand moved to the spot and he frowned. If only he could remember what the fuck happened! He didn't dislike the idea of Tala kissing him quite as much as he let on. As he thought about it now, his body heated and his heart skipped a beat. The wanting to just pull the stunning redhead in to his arms and be ravished by those soft lips was almost overwhelming, and it scared him. He was terrified by the fact that his knees went all wobbly when Tala smiled at him, and the way his heart warmed up to a fiery heat when he laughed. And it also terrified him that Tala had been hanging around his neck the previous day, his warm body so close to him that he could have just put his arms around him and hid his face in that toned chest forever. But he didn't. The other Demolition Boyz had been present, for one, and he really didn't think that Tala would like it very much. The older teen had always treated Kai like something of a little brother, a close friend. Nothing more. Kai knew Tala was into guys, that wasn't really a secret, but he thought the redhead's type to be something _quite_ different from himself. Tala would never be his, it was as simple as that. He closed his weary eyes and listened to the song that was currently playing. It was one of his favorite songs, one he wished he could play. But he was about as musical as a common radish, so he had long since given up on it. He crooned quietly along to it, his voice softer than anyone would had ever guessed it could be.

"_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

'_Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

_and sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_Or the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive..._"

He fought back the salty liquid forming in his eyes. Kai Hiwatari never cried. Ever. Crying meant you were weak. He wasn't weak. He was just tired, that's all. A sound came from one of the beds, and he turned his head to see what caused it. It turned out to be Tyson, talking in his sleep - again. The 'conversation' didn't make much sense, but then again Tyson's sleep-talking never did. Kai had heard all kinds of weird things from the heavy sleeper in the bed farthest away from the window. The others moved slightly in their sleep, breathing calm and peacefully. The headache had started to throb mercilessly, and he shut the mp3 player off and went to search his bag for some Tylenol_(2)_. He was not in the mood for a migraine attack at the moment. The attacks could last for a few hours or two days, he never knew in advance. And it scared the hell out of his team every time, their questions and attempts to help only added to his suffering. He took the required dose and laid down on his bed. He had to at least try to get some sleep. Mission impossible; it would take hours, if he did at all. And the clock beside the bed already said eight fifteen, which meant that the rest of his team (the exception being Tyson, as always) would wake up within an hour. He sighed and went into the bathroom, splashing ice cold water in his face to help ease the headache and the burning sensation in his eyes. With swift movements he applied the signature blue face paint. He hardly even had to look to get the triangles perfect. After scribbling a short note to his team about where he was, he left the room to head down for breakfast. In Kai's case that meant coffee. _Strong_ coffee, and lots of it.

xXx xXx xXx

Tala was twisting and turning in his bed, unable to sleep. His head was occupied with Kai, and the wonderful sensation of his own arms around the phoenix's strong neck. He had gone a bit overboard with his thankfulness, he knew it. The bluenette's elbow in his stomach had made that perfectly clear. Tala broke Kai's no 1 rule; don't touch. But he decided it was worth it to feel the warm body so close to him. It was probably the only way for him to get to touch his love. Yes, his _love._ Tala had spent the entire last night in Moscow straightening out his feelings for the younger teen. He had always had a soft spot for Kai, always thought him to be the most beautiful thing on the planet. He had always had the desire to get close to him, to have him all to himself. But he had never included the word 'love' in the matter before. But there was no other word he could use without lying to himself. How could he have been so blind? All those years they'd spent together, the feelings had been there, but he had paid no heed to them, and then Kai had left. Tala had since then tried to find a new object of desire, but it was futile. Kai was glued to his mind, to his heart. And now they were together again, free from the Abbey and with the world open to them. But now Tala Ivanov was scared. His feelings kept growing by the day, and he was afraid that he would reveal them unintentionally and thereby losing his best friend. But at the same time he had to reveal them at some point. He had to risk it. Because he couldn't endure being this close to his elusive phoenix without being able to tell him that he was _everything_ to him. That he wanted to be with him forever, that he would do anything to make him happy. And that could prove really hard to do. Tala had not been brought up to handle any emotion besides maybe malice and anger. And despite the fact that Kai always listened to him when he needed it, this was a big deal. He had to tell _Kai_ – the walking block of ice, who always kept a six feet distance to _everyone_ – that he was in love with him. Yeah, that would be a walk in the park. Or not. And he couldn't really ask the other guys for help, they knew about as much about love as a fish knew about the desert. And they would probably laugh at him for being soft and girly.

A sound came from the bed next to his, and a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned his head and – much to his surprise - found Bryan standing there. The concerned look seemed rather misplaced in the teen's usually intimidating face.

"_What's going on, Tal?" _he asked_. "You've been tossing and turning for hours. It's kinda hard to sleep here_."

Tala sighed.

"_I've just... got a lot on my mind, Bry._"

"_Uh-huh_," the falcon nodded. "_Mind telling me what it is?_"

Tala looked away. Bryan arched a brow and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"_It's about Kai, isn't it?_" he asked.

Tala's eyes went wide, and Bryan nodded grimly.

"_You like him, don't you?"_

The wolf nodded, still not looking at his lavender-haired friend. Bryan sighed.

"_Figured. So, what're you gonna do about it?_"

"_I don't know._"

"_Tell him, maybe?_"

"_Yeah, right. Might as well dig my own shitting __**grave**__ then_."

"_Come on, Tal. Snap the fuck out of it. You gotta tell him at some point, you know. Just get it over with_."

"_Shut up, Bry. This is __**Kai**__ we're talking about. Not some silly freaking fan girl_."

"_Fine, be like that then. But do it somewhere else, would ya? I really wanna sleep for a bit longer._"

He went back to his bed. Tala pulled the covers tighter around him and felt like shit. He closed his eyes and was determined not to get out of bed for at least an hour.

xXx xXx xXx

They met up with Oliver outside the Louvre, only half an hour late. Tyson had been so captivated by the mind-blowing size of the breakfast buffet, that they had finally decided to take drastic measures to get him away from there. The drastic measures was in this case named Spencer. He had simply grabbed Tyson by the back of his shirt and carried him out of the dining hall. The world champ had protested and whined for three blocks. Kenny was thrilled to finally see the Louvre from the inside. Oliver had promised a tour of the vast building and the tech freak was already babbling about all the wonders in there. Max and Rei listened to him with amused smiles. Tyson hung like a puppet from Spencer's grip, trying to get the large Russian to put him down. Bryan and Ian were admiring the female Parisians walking by, comparing them in their native tongue. Tala walked a few steps in front of them, occasionally admonishing them for being crude and disrespectful to such beauty. Kai lead the way, silent as always.

Oliver stood by the main entrance when they arrived, smiling brightly. The two teams stopped and greeted him.

"Hello, guys!" Oliver said. "What kept you? I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost."

Kai snorted. Rei smiled at the French boy with a look of apology.

"We had a hard time getting Tyson to stop eating," he said. "Sorry we kept you waiting."

Oliver laughed and looked at the navy-haired teen, still being held by Spencer.

"I remember his appetite, so I won't hold it against you. Come now, this is a big place to go through."

Kenny bounced up and down in enthusiasm, and immediately followed when Oliver turned and walked towards the doors. The other Bladebreakers smiled and shook their heads as they joined them. Tala picked up the pace and caught up with the French blader to get a good guiding. Kai, Bryan, Ian and Spencer stayed in the lobby, however. Kai had been in there before, and he was too tired to walk through all those rooms today. And the other three Russian teens weren't really that into art. They took seats on two benches that were placed in a corner, half facing each other, and watched the tourists pass by in to the depths of the immense building. Kai rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his temples with a slightly irritated look.

"_What's up, Kai?_" Ian asked and poked him on the shoulder. "_Hungover again, or something?_"

"_Looking after you guys, makes me wonder when the hell I could possibly have time to get drunk in the first place, Ian,_" the bluenette said without looking up.

"_Ok. So what is it then?_"

"_Nothing._"

Now Bryan joined the conversation.

"_Come on, Kai_," he reasoned. "_Those morons on your team might not see it, but we do. Somethin's bothering you_."

"_I'm fine_. _I just got a headache, ok?_"

"_You still get the migraines, ey?_" Spencer asked. The younger teen nodded, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"_You got any pills for it?_" Ian asked.

"_I took some Tylenol around – I don't know - eight or something._"

"_It's eleven thirty now, idiot_," the shorter teen said. "_You should take another round, or we'll have to __**carry**__ you out of here._"

"_You __**do**__ have some with you, right?_" Bryan inquired.

"Hn." He took a small plastic box out of his pocket and took out two pills. He threw them into his mouth and swallowed them without blinking. He shuddered as he felt them go down his throat. Ian looked at him with an arched brow.

"_You know you take __**too**__ many pills when you can swallow them without water_," he stated.

"_Aw, shut it_," Kai snarled. "_It's not like I'm a freaking addict here_."

"_Uh-huh_," Bryan snorted. "_Then what are those Zopi-something pills you had in your bag?_"

"_And just __**when**__ did you go through my bag?_"

"_In Moscow, you twerp. After the shower. Remember? You told us to get clothes in your bag._"

"_Aw, hell_," the phoenix sighed.

"_Still waiting here, little brother,_" Spencer said.

"_They're just some sleeping pills I take when I get too tired,_" he said dismissively. "_Nothing special._"

"_And you can handle them?_" Ian asked.

"_Why wouldn't I?_" he snapped back. "_I know what you're thinking about, but a __**lot**__ of things has changed since then, ok?_"

"_And your team? Do they know?_"

"_Know what? That I hardly ever manage to sleep? That I have nightmares that makes hell seem like a holiday resort? No. I don't __**want**__ them to know._"

"_Ok, we'll trust you on that. But you had us kinda worried there for a while,_" Bryan said.

"_Don't be. I've got it under control_."

xXx xXx xXx

"Oliver, how long have we been walking?" Max mewled. "My feet are killing me!"

The green-haired teen laughed and checked his watch.

"We've been in here for about three hours."

"Three hours?" Tyson, Rei and Max shouted in surprise.

"How big _is_ this place?" Rei asked.

"A lot bigger than one thinks," Oliver replied. "One can walk around here for days and still find new things. We're taking the short tour."

Kenny resembled Max during a serious sugar-high, bouncing around and trying to look at as many things as possible. Every now and then they heard a 'Whoa!' coming from him. Tala was in much the same state, moving like a fiery wind from artwork to artwork and giving small squeaks of joy every other second. The Bladebreakers had been surprised to see this side of him. But then again they were surprised to see any new side of him. He babbled on about his favorite pieces to Oliver, who smiled and gave him tips about other similar works. Finally they reached the exit, their heads spinning from all the impressions, and found the other four guys sitting in the lobby, looking bored.

"That only took like forever," Ian said. "What did you do? Take a walk around the whole town?"

"The Louvre is a rather big place, Ian," Tala said matter-of-factly. "It'd probably take you a week to walk through it, shorty."

"Who're you calling shorty, you carrot coloured bitch?" Ian growled. "I can knock you out in a heartbeat, you freaking diva!"

"You _are_ short. Perhaps a pair of stilts would help you get a better perspective."

The serpent blader roared and lunged at him, trying to land one of his fists in Tala's face. But his hand was caught in mid air, and held firmly by the bluenette next to him.

"Stop bitching," Kai demanded. "For fucks sake, you're acting like kids in a freaking sandbox or something."

"Yeah, Ian, behave," Tala said.

"Tala," Kai said, in a treacherously calm tone. "You're being extremely immature. Stop it."

Oliver laughed at the scene.

"They are quite... unruly, your friends, aren't they?" he said to Kai.

"What was your first clue?"

"Are they always like this?"

"No. Sometimes they're worse."

The French blader laughed again, and led them out of the giant museum to find other sights.

xXx xXx xXx

Oliver had of course been disappointed when the Russians declined his offer to go beyblading in a lush park. But they couldn't risk it. Every kid in Europe knew who the Demolition Boyz were, and there would be no faster way of providing Boris with a trail than to battle someone in the open. So he took them instead to a paint ball park in central Paris, to satisfy some of the Russian teens' need for physical activities. Tala might be a huge fan of culture, but his teammates certainly wasn't. So he mentioned this activity, and they had all decided to go there. The Bladebreakers seemed quite excited too.

They got to the park and got their equipment and a quick briefing on how to use them. The Bladebreakers felt kind of lost in their protective clothing and with the strange guns in their hands. The five Russian teens however held theirs with a look of having done it before. With Oliver, they were ten people. A good number for splitting up into two teams.

In the first team there was Kai, Rei, Bryan, Ian and Kenny. The second team consisted of Tyson, Max, Spencer, Tala and a reluctant Oliver (who looked even _more_ lost with the marker in his hands than the rest of them). The plan was to take stand at the two ends of the area and then try to get the whole team over to the other side, and shooting as many of the other team down as possible in the process. They did so, and after a countdown, the war was on. Curses and insults, cries of horror and joy filled the air. It was a close battle, since the ones who actually _knew_ how to shoot were split equally between the teams. Kenny was the first one to be taken out, by Spencer, who shot him right in the back. Next one to go was Tyson. Ian was as good a shooter as his teammate. It developed into a complete deadlock when there was finally only four fighters left. Kai had his marker pointed at Tala's head, Spencer had his aimed at Kai. Bryan pointed his at Spencer and Tala had a clean shot at Bryan's chest.

"Don't move a single inch, Tala," Kai said. "Or you'll have a lovely green shade to that carrot coloured hair of yours."

"_Carrot coloured?_" Tala yelled. "You are so _dead_, birdie boy!" He moved to shoot Kai instead of Bryan, and thereby broke the deadlock. Kai has anticipated that move, if not even provoked it, and fired the bullet of green paint straight in Tala's masked face. He then threw himself flat on the ground and rolled out of the way of Spencer's purple coloured balls. Bryan quickly came to his aid and fired repeated rounds at Spencer's chest and head. The dirty blonde cursed both of them to hell and beyond as they quickly ran to the other team's base and claimed themselves the winners.

"All right!" Ian exclaimed. "The losers pay for ice creams, remember?"

"He tricked me!" Tala said loudly and pointed an accusing finger at Kai's grinning face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Tala," he said. "I wasn't the one who decided to break the deadlock because of one little tease."

"You're such a jerk, Kai."

"I know."

He patted the redhead on the shoulder.

"Come on guys," he said. "I believe Oliver's team owes us ice cream."

Laughing, the ten youngsters headed back to the lively streets of Paris.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Zopiclone is a heavily restricted medication, used to treat severe insomnia. It has a range of rather nasty side effects, but it tend to knock you flat out when you take them (Believe me!). Which is, of course, pretty much what it's supposed to do.

Tylenol is a paracetamol based pain killer.

**PTSD** is short for **P**ost **T**raumatic **S**tress **D**isorder.

So what did Kai mean with "I know what you're thinking about, but a **lot** of things has changed since then!" ? **Stay tuned to find out.**

(And Tala and Ian's little dispute was just so cute. They're like a couple of kids, aren't they? For being the youngest of them, Kai sure has to be the big brother a lot.)

(( And Oliver with a paint ball gun is so... damn funny!))

The lyrics comes from a great song by great band. It's "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.


	5. Of fears and french kisses

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**xXx xXx xXx**

The last stop of the day was, of course, the Eiffel tower. However, there was a sudden problem when they got ready to go up. Tala planted his feet in the ground and refused to move. He looked up the length of the tower and shuddered, his face suddenly pale.

"What's up with you?" Kai asked.

"I – I suddenly don't feel like going up there. I think I'll wait here."

The phoenix arched a brow and Tala felt stupid. Kai's hand landed on his upper arm and he looked down in to those heavenly crimson eyes. His pulse started beating hard in his chest and his knees went weak.

"Don't tell me you're scared of heights, Tal," he said. "You've thrown yourself out of helicopters, you've climbed five-story buildings and what not, and now you want me to believe that you're scared of taking an _elevator_ up to the best view of Paris, you'll ever get?"

There was no mocking in his tone, even though Tala wished it had been. That would have made it easy to just snap at him and walk away from this... horrible situation. No, the phoenix was just wondering, concerned about his friend's obvious discomfort. Tala tried to stop a blush that threatened to break out. They were all looking at him, and he felt so fucking sappy. Normally Tala loved attention, as we all know, but when it was directed to him in this kind of situation, he absolutely _loathed_ it.

"Tal?" Kai asked again with his low voice.

"_I don't like high places,_" he breathed. "_Can't I stay here?_"

"What's going on?" Tyson asked, a few feet away towards the elevator. "Wolf-boy's scared to go up or what?"

"Shut it," Bryan said. "Get in the damned elevator. We'll be right up."

The Bladebreakers hesitated, but Spencer and Ian joined Bryan in giving them death glares that gave Kai's a run for their money. They quickly got in and started the journey to the top floor. Back at ground level, the Russians were trying to persuade Tala to move.

"_Come on, Tala_," Bryan said. "_Kai's right. You've done worse fucking things than __**this**__ before._"

"_Yeah_," Ian agreed. "_It's not like were gonna __**climb**__ all the way up there, ya know._"

"_I don't want to._"

"_Yeah, you do_," Kai said. "_You're gonna regret it forever if you don't go up. You've wanted to go up there since we were kids_."

"_And besides_," Spencer said. "_The other airheads are gonna think you're a coward._"

Tala's eyes widened and glowed an icy blue.

"_Ok, I'm going_."

They got in the elevator, but when it started moving upwards Tala regretted his decision. He felt the cold sweat breaking out, and his heart pounded away as if it was trying to break out of his ribcage. He just wanted to curl up and hide in a corner. But he didn't. Because Kai would be disappointed in him if he went back down. The lingering warmth of his hand on Tala's shoulder felt hot like a hearth, and he savored it to every last bit. Bryan looked at him, looked at his shaking body, and sweating face. He saw the small glances the redhead threw at the boy next to him. Kai looked distant as ever, clearly avoiding to look at the wolf . He had heard a softness in Kai's voice when he spoke to Tala, seen how his hand had lingered on his arm before quickly letting go when he seemed to realize that he made physical contact with another human being. These two were so clearly in love with each other, it was almost ridiculous. And knowing them, they would probably go on like this, suffering to their last breath, forever if someone didn't intervene. He had a hunch that the 'someone' in this case would be him. Spencer was about as clueless about the ongoing love story as Ian would be in a ballet class. As for Ian, well, he wasn't really any better. He'd just mock Tala, and then it would be an all out war going on. And of course the two most insanely fucking stubborn people he had ever known had go and fall for _each other._

((_Hm, looks like I'll have to play Cupid here. Or they're just gonna keep playing the self-pity game forever. Yay, great fun. Fucking __**idiots.**_))

They reached the top floor, and basically had to drag Tala out of the elevator. The redhead looked down at the floor with a determined look on his face. They could almost hear him thinking; 'Don't look out. Don't look out. Don't look out'. They looked at each other, shrugged and started walking towards the others. Tala panicked and grabbed hold of the closest person he could find. That person turned out to be Kai. He felt the fabric of his long gloves under his hand, and the phoenix stopped.

((_I'm so dead now. He's gonna kill me_.))

He waited for a punch or a threat. But none came. He looked up and found Kai watching him with an arched brow.

"_You ok_?" he asked.

Tala swallowed and nodded, at least _trying_ to keep some dignity. The bluenette wasn't buying it, though. He released his arm from Tala's bone-crushing grip and put a hand on his arm again. It always seemed to calm his best friend down, and so it was worth a try.

"_It's ok, Tal_," he said. "_Just take one look, and then we can go back down if you want to._"

((_Hope he doesn't hear how worried I am about him right now. I hope he doesn't realize just how bad I want to go back down with him, be alone with him. This is __**so**__ not good_!))

"_One look, and then I'm going back down._"

"_Hn_."

Tala started walking towards the others, who were standing by the large windows, Kai followed one step behind him as if to make sure that the redhead did not try to escape. He collected himself, took a deep breath and looked out over the city of Paris. The view was stunning, of course, and he was glad that they had gotten him to go up here. He stood there, captivated by the sight for a while. But then he made a big mistake; he got curios and looked down to see just how far down the ground was. He felt his skin go pale as all blood left his head and the surroundings started to whirl, and his knees lost their ability to keep him up.

"Tala?" he heard a distorted voice say to the left. "Oh, fuck. He's passing out! Kai, catch him goddammit!"

As he fell backwards, he felt himself caught by a pair of arms, and then everything went black.

Bryan turned towards Tala just when he went pale and saw his pupils dilate. And then the redhead fell backwards, and he shouted at Kai, who still stood behind him, but talking to Rei, to catch him before he hit the floor. The phoenix thankfully had lightning sharp reflexes and caught Tala long before he hit ground. The other teens stared at them.

"What the hell just happened?" Tyson asked. "Tala just passed out?"

"No, he's just admiring the view of the inside of his eyelids," Ian retorted. "_Duh_!"

"Get him some water," Bryan demanded. "And something with sugar."

The Bladebreakers scurried off to find water and sugar. Oliver remained with the Russians, a little pale himself.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Tala is extremely scared of heights," Spencer said. "And of course the moron looked down."

"Oh. Right."

Kai had knelt down on one knee and was holding Tala up in a half-sitting position, trying to wake him. The others kept the small crowd that had started to gather around them at bay.

"_Come on, Tala_," Kai said in a low voice. "_Time to wake up_." He clapped the redhead's pale cheek, and studied his face for any signs of him waking up. Eventually there was a slight movement in the wolf's face and he opened an eye.

"_You ok_?" Kai asked. Tala blushed a little when he saw who it was that held him in his arms. Dead embarrassing to, one; pass out in public, and two; being saved by Kai. He saw the bluenette wait for a response and he nodded meekly.

"_I think so_." He made an attempt to get up, but Kai wouldn't let him.

"_If you get up too quick, you'll pass out again. I'll let you up when you've had some water and some sugar, ok_?"

Tala gave another nod. He felt really shaky, and it wasn't just because of the fainting. It was also the fact that he was being cradled in the warm, strong arms of his beloved phoenix. And the crimson orbs were fixed on him, with a hint of worry somewhere deep within them. He wanted this moment to last forever. But he knew that it would be over soon, and then Kai would go back to his 'touch-me-and-you're-dead' – attitude, and Tala would feel even more like a stupid lovesick teenager.

Rei and Max came up to them with a cup of water and a bar of chocolate. The Chinese blader crouched down beside them and held the cup of water so that Tala could take it. But the wolf-boy's hand trembled so bad that Kai simply took it instead, and held it to his lips. Tala felt so stupid, but he needed water, and so he took a few careful sips of the cold liquid. He tried to pull his head away, but Kai said no.

"_You need to drink the whole cup, Tal. But ok, take some of the chocolate in between._"

Max handed him the bar, and he took a small bite of it. It was so sweet it was almost too much, but he knew that his friends wouldn't let him go anywhere until he'd finished, so he ate it in small bites, taking a few sips of water in between. Finally he finished the horribly sweet candy and took the last gulp of water. Kai gave a small smile, and Tala felt like melting. He fought back a blush.

"Can I get up now?" he asked. He didn't want to, but he had to. Kai's body, and particularly his lips, was too close for comfort. He had to restrain himself so that he wouldn't just throw himself at the smaller boy.

Kai nodded and let go of him. Bryan extended a hand and helped him back up on his feet. Ian growled at the small crowd of curious people.

"Show's over people! Now, back the hell off!"

They reluctantly did as the short teen requested, chattering in a dozen different languages. Tala blushed when he realized that they had all been staring at him. He made a mental note not to faint in public ever again.

Kai had taken a few steps away, settling in to his signature stance and placing a distant and uncaring look on his face. He couldn't give any of them a single hint of what he felt when he had held Tala in his arms like that. The slender body, so warm and inviting, had been in _his_ arms, his lips so close that he could have just leaned in and kissed him back to consciousness. And just the sight of him passing out like that has made his heart skip a beat. He felt so fucking weak! How could a person have such an effect on him? He could feel affectionate towards people, although he rarely showed it, but this... this burning sensation in his heart was almost so painful he couldn't breathe. Tala was like a fever in his blood, every thought he had revolved around the redhead unless he forced himself to think of something else. And he didn't know what the hell to do. Love was a feeling that had always been alien to him. And now, now it had hit him in the head like a ton of bricks, leaving him desperate for a way to handle it. Telling Tala about if felt about as possible as him swimming across the Atlantic. His usual way of handling people that got too close was simple. He would just pull out the most disgustingly mean side of him, make a cruel remark or two and then they would get out of his face faster than the speed of light. But he couldn't use that tactic against Tala. The redhead knew how it worked, of course, since they had grown up together. It would also hurt him to death if he did, and the others would beat him to pieces like he was a piñata or something. And since it was pretty much his _only_ tactic, he was trapped in a corner. And so he chose to keep himself under strict control, to rely on the extreme self-discipline he learned in the Abbey. Tala was not going to get under that shell. It was the only thing he could do to protect himself from what he felt.

Tala looked over at the phoenix, and the bluenette's facial expression pissed him off. Kai looked almost bored now, like Tala's fainting had been nothing but a bother. So what was that look on his face when he held Tala in his arms all about? What was that warm smile about? The anger seethed in him, and he decided that he would make the phoenix pay for that insult. That... _toying_ with him. However, when they crossed a small square with a little market, someone else got caught in the range of the wolf's anger. It ended up with Bryan and Spencer dragging him back to the hotel by force, and Kai boiling with anger behind them.

xXx xXx xXx

"Way to go with that vendor, Tala," Kai said when they got back to the hotel. "You really scared the _shit_ out of him. What the hell were you _thinking_?"

"He insulted me," Tala replied, rather icy. "You heard him."

"He called you rude, for bumping in to him and not apologizing."

"I believe his exact words were ' watch where you're going you filthy little piece of trash'. And that is an insult."

"You _are_ trash, Tala. We _all_ are. Telling him that you would tear his heart out and feed it to the dogs, was really overdoing it We're just lucky he didn't call the police on you. Then we would have been in deep shit. You're on the run from the Abbey, in case you forgot!"

"I don't like people calling me trash. And that applies to _you_ too, Kai." There was a hint of a threat in his voice. Kai picked up on it, but, being _Kai_, he wasn't going to back down.

"So what are you going to do? Stop me?" he snorted, eyes glowing. "If you can't handle the truth, don't talk to people."

"Shut your freaking mouth, right now, or I'll tear your head off," Tala hissed.

"No, you're going to_try_. And I'm going to stop you like I always do."

"You're the biggest fucking _jerk_ on the planet!"

"Got a problem with that all of a sudden? You're no saint yourself. A cold-hearted shithead with attitude problems would be a better description."

"Aw, that's _it!_ You're going down!" Tala roared and jumped at Kai, eyes burning with anger and a fist clenched and ready to cause damage. The phoenix didn't even flinch as the raging Russian threw a punch at him. He stopped him with a knee to his gut. Tala folded, hissing.

"You motherfucking son of a bitch!"

"Grow up, Tala. Or at least learn to be civilized."

The room was almost too quiet after the argument. Kai had walked off, out to the terrace on the top floor of the building. Tala looked unhappy, and bit his lower lip, frowning. Bryan growled and got on his feet.

"I've so fucking _had_ it with this shit!" he stated, and grabbed Tala by his jacket and dragged him along. The others followed the raging falcon warily, to see what the hell was going on. Kai and Tala were always bickering. It seemed to be their normal routine, but something had changed in the tone. Kai had sounded colder, and Tala angrier. They had watched the argument play out like watching a tennis match. He dragged the wolf all the way up to the top floor, opened the door and shoved him out on to the terrace. Kai turned his head and looked in surprise at the scene.

"Tala has something to say to you," Bryan said. "And _none_ of you two goddamned idiots are coming back down until you've fucking _settled_ this!"

He slammed the door shut.

"_What the hell was __**that**__ all about?_" Kai asked, still somewhat annoyed. "_Bry usually doesn't care when we argue._"

Tala looked at him. He was absolutely gorgeous in the golden light of the setting sun. So this was it, he thought. This was the moment of confession. Tala was _so_ dead, he knew it. Kai was going to bite his head off.

"_Um, well..._" he started, but trailed off. "_I've... been meaning to speak to you about something, but I've been a shitting coward about it. Bryan got sick of it, I guess._"

"_Ok? So what's going on? You haven't really been yourself these last few days._"

The redhead seemed to huddle himself in his wide collar and was staring at his feet. This made the bluenette worried, and all anger from their fight was pushed aside.

"_Tala?_"

"_I'm sorry about his Kai, but..._" Tala started, but hesitated.

"_Sorry about what, Tala?_" the phoenix asked, worriedly. "_You're not __**leaving**__ or something?_"

Tala vigorously shook his head, but still not looking at the teen in front of him.

"_I'm sorry, because I don't think you'll like what I have to say._"

The phoenix put a hand on his arm, adding to Tala's pain.

"_Just say it. Then we'll see if I like it or not._"

Tala took a deep breath and looked at him, pain and fear written all over his face.

"_I'm... I'm in love with you, Kai. Sorry_."

He saw the other boy tense up, crimson eyes wide open, his face expressing pure disbelief. The wolf looked away and wanted to cry, when suddenly a strong fist grabbed his collar and pulled him downwards. Scorching hot lips made contact with his, demanding his to answer it. And he did, with every fiber of his being. His body felt like it had caught fire and he just melted in the heat. Kai nipped his lower lip to gain entrance to his mouth, and he happily conceded. The phoenix's hands had buried themselves in his fiery hair, keeping him right where he was, and he found himself putting his arms around Kai's slim waist, as if to keep him from leaving. The sensation of Kai's hot breath mingling with his, their tongues dancing in each others mouths and the phoenix's obvious refusal to just submit made his knees feel weak and caused waves of heat to rush up and down his body. This was almost surreal. Kai Hiwatari was kissing him. Not just that; _he_ was kissing Kai Hiwatari! He felt a need to pinch himself, to establish whether he was dreaming or this was actually happening.

They broke apart just before they risked dying from asphyxiation. Tala's cheeks were a deep shade of pink and his blue eyes were big and shining, shocked and happy. He gave a shaky smile. Kai gave a slight smile back. The crimson orbs were burning as he looked at Tala. The redhead took courage and pulled him into his arms, inhaling the intoxicating smell of spices and hint of flowers that radiated from Kai's blue locks. It made his head spin, as it always did. The perfume fitted his personality so well, but you had to come really close to even feel it. Kai put his arms around his waist and rested his cheek against his chest. For a moment they just stood there, silent. Then Tala looked down at him with a hint of a question in his eyes.

"_You're ok with this?_" he asked cautiously. "_You don't hate me?_"

"_Why would I?_" Kai replied. "_I have felt the same for you for God knows how long. I've been a real fucking coward about it though. Prosty menya, Tala._" [1]

He reached up and placed a soft kiss on his mouth, just barely touching it.

"_But now that I have you, I'm never letting go. You're __**mine**__, Tala._"

"_I can live with that._" Tala smiled and kissed him again.

**xXx xXx xXx**

And there it goes! The boys love is officially **in** the story. Let' see how the others will react. And if you think that it will stop their usual bickering, I'm sorry – because you'll be dead wrong.

And to think that our courageous wolf is terrified of heights! Poor little thing. So I'm guessing that his tactic when jumping out of Biovolt's helicopters is simply to repeat 'Go to the happy place! Go to the happy place!' over and over until he touch ground. That's what I'd do. If I went up in the Eiffel tower, I'd probably faint to, without even having to look down. Just standing on a chair makes me sweat.

[1] _Prosty menya _means 'forgive me' in Russian. I think it sounds nice.


	6. Of migraines and memories

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**xXx xXx xXx**

Bryan shut the door and shoved the other teens back down to their rooms. He was still cursing under his breath in Russian, and looked about ready to kill someone.

"Eh, Bryan?" Kenny asked, cautiously. "You _do_ know that one of them will probably throw the other one off the building, right?"

"No, they won't," the falcon retorted. "Cause I'll kill them both if they do."

"Then what the hell was that all about?" Tyson asked.

"They needed to settle something. And they're too fucking _stubborn_ to do it on their own. Goddamned drama-queens, both of them."

"Oh. Right."

The Demolition Boyz occupied the couch in the Bladebreakers' room, and the other teens sat down where they could. Ian turned on the TV. None of them seemed the least bit worried about the fact that the two bladers had gotten into a real physical fight about ten minutes before. Both Tala and Kai were very strong, and very good at various (probably deadly) martial arts. And to force them together like that, when both of them were furious, didn't really look like a good idea. But minutes later, the door opened and revealed both the phoenix and the wolf, both looking in perfect health. Tala's eyes were practically glowing, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Kai looked like... well, like Kai, basically. He was however within his six-feet-safety-perimeter to Tala. In fact, he held an arm around the redhead's waist, and the latter had an arm around his neck.

"So, how did it go?" Bryan asked. "Should I just kill you and get it over with?"

"It went just fine, so I'd appreciate if you let me live a while longer." Kai replied. "But can you imagine that the moron actually looked down – again?"

"I got curious," Tala tried to defend himself. "I didn't realize how high a fourteen story building really is."

"Uh- huh," Bryan said with a tone of not buying it one bit. "So you didn't faint to get phoenix-boy to catch you again?"

"What? Of course not!"

"Pfft! Yeah, right."

"Could someone tell us what the fuck is going on?" Tyson complained. "Ten minutes ago you guys were gonna freaking kill each other!"

"Hn. But that was ten minutes ago," Kai said calmly, and thereby made Tyson frustrated.

"That's not an answer, you jerk!"

"Well," Tala said with a wolfish grin. "I think our fan-girls are gonna be crying their hearts out for the next weeks or so."

"Huh?" Tyson said, stupefied. "The hell is that supposed to mean? You're both jerks!"

"That's probably why we get along so well."

"Will you _stop_ it, you-" Max put a hand over his mouth. The dragon blader looked at him with annoyance.

Kai shoved Ian out of the way and planted Tala on the couch next to the shorter teen. He was just about to go sit down somewhere, when Tala grabbed his scarf and pulled him back, almost choking him in the process. The phoenix landed on his lap, and the wolf quickly put his arms around him to prevent him from getting up. Kai tried to get loose, but Tala was, of course, stronger than him. The phoenix-boy stopped struggling and looked at him, rather resigned.

"Guess that's the end of keeping you away," he sighed.

"Very much so, darling." Tala said, smirking at the last word. The bluenette grimaced.

"Call me that again, Tala Ivanov, and you are dead," he threatened.

"But you _are._ Would you prefer 'sweetie', 'dear' or perhaps 'pumpkin'?"

"Don't push it, wolfie!"

Tala laughed, and so did the Demolition Boyz, who had caught on to what was going on. Kai looked insulted, and a slight blush appeared over his face.

"What's the matter, 'sweetie'?" Ian giggled. "Don't like your boyfriend's nicknames?"

"_Boyfriend?"_ Tyson blurted out. "You're kidding me!"

"Nope."

"Kai, you're _gay_?"

"No, I just want to be special. _Duh!_ Obviously." He gave the navy-haired boy a look that silenced any objections. "Got a _problem_ with that?"

The Bladebreakers all vigorously shook their heads.

Xxx xXx xxX

That night, Kai actually went to sleep. The only problem was that he woke up three hours later from a nightmare, in which he was back in the Abbey, being beaten half to death by Boris' underlings. And every single kid was there, laughing at him, mocking him. It was so real, he felt his ribs being broken, ears ringing and the skin opening up into deep gashes. This was no unusual nightmare. It was one of his most painful memories. That total humiliation he had felt. And no one came to his aid. Tala and the others were held back by guards, and couldn't do anything anyway, for fear that someone might suspect that they cared. It was their agreement to keep their friendship secret, since such things were considered weak and foolish. And the other kids thought it to be funny that the creepy, cold-hearted Kai got beaten up like a dog. Voltaire had been there too, and he had laughed more than anyone. Kai had taken the beating without a sound, without showing any emotion. But it had taken him well over an hour to even get back on his feet.

He felt the panic holding his body in a firm grip, and the cold sweat was breaking out all over him. He had to check, as always, that he was in one piece, and that the room was not the Abbey. No, it was safe. He was in Paris, in a hotel-room and his team were sleeping in the neighboring beds. But the adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he was wide awake.

Going back to sleep would be impossible now. The alarm-clock said two thirty-five. If he took one of his pills, he would sleep for at least four hours. But was it worth it? He'd be almost hungover the rest of the day. And not to mention the creepy side effects.

((_Hm, what was it we were supposed to do? Go to that water park, I think. The guys will go ape when they see it. We'll probably have to fucking drag them out of there. It might be fun, even though the thought of Tyson in only shorts is really revolting. Better take one of those damned pills, and get some sleep. Not a good idea to go there like some fucking zombie._))

He searched his bag, and got a pill from the bottle. He swallowed it down, and tried not to think of the extremely bitter taste that spread in his mouth. Half an hour later he slept like the dead.

But the next morning, his suffering ten-folded. He woke up at eight with a migraine the size of a planet. He hid hid head under the cover, trying to block out any lights. But even then it was too bright for his eyes. He felt nauseous, and the sound of his team waking up was excruciating. He wanted to shout at them to stay quiet, but he couldn't open his mouth for fear that he'd throw up.

"Hey, what's this?" He heard Tyson say, as loud as if he was speaking through a megaphone. "Kai's still sleeping?"

Someone approached the bed.

"Kai?" Rei's voice was slightly lower, but still _way_too loud. "You ok?"

"Shut up," he whispered. "Leave me alone."

"Come on, Kai," the feline said. "Are you sick or something? Let me have a look at you."

Kai felt him tug at the cover, and he held on to it with every bit of strength he could conjure at that moment. Not much, in other words. But thankfully, Rei let go. He heard the others come over as well.

"What's wrong with him, Rei?" Max asked.

"Dunno."

"Stop... screaming," Kai begged. "You're killing me."

Rei sent Kenny to fetch one of the Demolition Boyz, to see if they could better find out why their captain was hiding under his covers like that. All four Russian teens came back with the small brunette. Bryan took one look at the situation and sighed.

"Someone give him some painkillers," he said in a very low voice, that still made the figure under the covers whimper. "And keep your mouths _shut."_

"What's going on?" Max whispered.

"Migraine," Spencer explained. "Haven't you seen anyone with shitting migraine before?"

"Well, yes," Kenny said. "Kai _does_ get them all the time."

"Then _why_ are you acting like fucking scared little chickens?" Ian questioned.

"Will you shut up?" it came from the bed.

"Sorry, Kai," Bryan said. "Now get the fuck out, you morons. He needs peace and quiet."

The sound of feet leaving the room made him relax somewhat. Then he heard the curtains being closed and soon after a cool hand touched his forehead.

"_Here, painkillers_," Tala's voice said, softly and in a whisper. "_It's dark, so you can remove the cover now_."

Warily he did as the wolf asked. It was indeed dark in there but he kept his eyes closed anyway. Just the slight movement it would take to open them hurt like hell. He held out a hand and felt the little tablets land in his palm. He managed to open his mouth enough to take them, and the edge of a glass made contact with his lips. He took it and swallowed the painkillers with a big gulp of water. A wave of nausea ran through him, but he didn't throw up, even though it was close. He laid back down, and felt Tala laying down next to him, gently stroking his damp forehead. He turned and hid his aching head against the wolf's chest. His boyfriend put his arms around him and held him there, kissing his hair every now and then.

"_Go to sleep, __moya lyubimaya,_" he whispered, hardly more than a breath. "_I'm here._" [1]

xXx xXx xXx

"Guess _he's_ not going anywhere today then," Spencer said calmly in the elevator.

"Yeah," Ian agreed. "Hope it's not one of those three-days-in-a-row attacks. Cause then we'll have to move these shitting airheads in to _our_ room." He pointed to the Bladebreakers. "He's gonna cut their shitting tongues out otherwise."

"The hell would we move in to your room for?" Tyson asked.

"Because you guys are the noisiest fucking bunch of kids we've ever met," Bryan said. "And noise is not a good thing to make around someone with a shitting _migraine._ Especially not when the 'someone' is named Kai, and happens to be a black belt in a shitload of fighting styles as well as the most short tempered freaking guy in Europe."

"Yeah, I kinda know what you mean," Rei said. "He's really nasty when he's feeling ill. Didn't realize it was that bad though. I don't really know what a migraine is."

"It's a fucking bitch," Spencer said. "You gotta be in a completely dark room, without a fucking sound, or your head feels like it's gonna fucking explode. And you puke your shitting guts out cause of the pain."

"Oh." Rei blushed, so did Max and Kenny. Tyson snorted. "Poor Kai."

Bryan smirked.

"Don't ever say _that_ in front of him. He's gonna have your head. Kai _despises_ pity."

They (Ian and Tyson that is) attacked the breakfast buffet with some ferocity. The rest of the two teams looked at their battle for the best bits of all the dishes, rolling their eyes. It would seem that when it comes to appetite, they were the perfect match. Five heads silently decided never to invite those two over for dinner at the same time. Eventually they managed to pry the two gobbling teens away from the tables, allowing the rest of the guests to come near it. What was left of it, anyway.

They sat down and ate their meal, the Demolition Boyz teasing each other as they always did. The Bladebreakers were quiet, due to the fact that there was three scary Russian guys at the opposite side of the table, and the only two people who could keep them in line were still up in their room. One of them hardly even conscious, and the other one watching over him like a mother hen. About an hour later, Oliver showed up, cheery and carrying a small bag containing his swimming shorts.

"Bonjour!" he greeted them. "How are you today?"

"We're great!" Max smiled.

"Most of us," Rei said.

The French blader looked around and frowned.

"I can see that there are people missing. Where is Kai and Tala?"

"Old sourpuss got a headache," Tyson said. Bryan kicked him under the table. "Ouch! Hey-"

"Shut up, kid," Bryan said. He turned to Oliver, who looked at them rather curious. "Kai's got a fucking migraine, so he's kinda out of it today. Tala's looking after him."

"Oh." Oliver frowned again. "Are _we_ still going to the water park then?"

"Nah, probably aint a good idea," Spencer said and folded the newspaper he was reading. "Doesn't seem fair to go when they're not in."

"Why should _we_ miss out on the fun, just cause Kai's got a headache?" Tyson snorted. "It's not like he's any fun to hang out with anyway."

"You guys really don't know him, do you?" Ian asked.

"You're saying Kai can actually be fun? Now _that_ I don't believe."

"One time he caused complete havoc in the Abbey. He bypassed the security system, causing the surveillance monitors to show those gross little fuckers... Teletubbies or whatever, for three hours straight before Boris shut down the entire system. And had to re-install the whole fucking thing again. They never caught him for it."

"_W-What?!_" the Bladebreakers shouted in unison. "_Kai_ did that?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Why?" Max asked, shocked.

"To get us out for a night," Bryan said. "There was a new pizza place opening in Moscow. We wanted to try it out. We never had pizza before that."

"You never had pizza?" Max said, his blue eyes open in surprise.

"We never had a lot of things, kid," Ian said.

Xxx xXx xxX

"_Kai, you don't have to act tough now_," Tala whispered. "_If it hurts, you can show it. I'm not gonna make fun of you for it_."

He gently stroked the line of the phoenix's shoulder and chest. Kai had curled up, holding his head, body tense like a steel bar. Not a sound escaped him, and had Tala not felt his heart's drumming beats, he'd thought for sure that the other boy was dead and in full blown rigor mortis. The wolf tried to back-trace this reaction, to see what had caused it. He was sure that it wasn't one of his normal migraine behaviors. He realized that it had happened when Kai almost rolled off the bed, and Tala had grabbed him with all his strength to keep him in place. He suddenly understood. When someone grabbed them like that in the Abbey, it usually meant shots, humiliation and pain. And Kai had been treated like that a lot. Every time Voltaire was disappointed with him, Boris would get an all clear to 'put the boy in place'. But Tala hadn't really thought that his boyfriend would still suffer from it to this extent. Perhaps it was because Kai had always been a fighter, refusing to ever give in. Tala and the others had faked submission, to at least try to stay on Boris' good side (not that he really had one). They had still gotten beatings like no other, but Kai couldn't even pretend to obey. It was just not _in_ him to do it. God only knew how many times they had been beaten, whipped or starved, but he always got back up. Always. Dranzer was really the perfect spirit for him. Kai got burned over and over, but emerged from the ashes every single time. A little harder, a little colder, a little more hateful, but always himself. He had only given up once, and Tala didn't even want to _think_ about that time. He smacked himself in the face.

((_Aren't __**you**__ stupid? You don't grab Kai like that. __**Ever**__. You should have let him roll off, and then helped him back up, you idiot. Now what to do? He's freaking petrified. Aw, hell._))

He got off the bed, walked around it and knelt down in front of Kai's face. The crimson eyes stared into nothing, wide open and not even blinking. They looked like the eyes of a doll, lifeless, shining porcelain orbs. He reached out one of his slender hands and gently stroked his chin. The boy in front of him shuddered.

"_Kai? I'm sorry,_" he whispered. "_Look at me. Please_?"

He could see the cold sweat pouring off the bluenette, how his body vibrated from the tension. But suddenly the crimson eyes became alive again. He blinked, and seemed to relax, a small whimper escaping him. Tala gently removed his hands and leaned in to kiss him softly on the dry lips.

"_Tala_?" Kai whispered. "_Where...I-I'm not __**There**_?"

"_Nyet, moya lyubimaya, you're in Paris, and I'm here. Thew others are at the water park, I think._"

Kai closed his eyes and nodded. He rolled over on his back and let out a deep breath. Tala laid back down beside him with his head on the other teen's chest and an arm around his waist. They laid like that for a long while. Tala listened to his lover's heartbeats and felt his chest move with his breathing. He was sure that Kai had finally gone to sleep, when he heard his low voice;

"_What time is it_?"

Tala looked over at the alarm clock.

"_Two thirty four. Why_?"

"_I think it's going away. It doesn't feel like my head's gonna explode anymore_."

"_That's good_," Tala smiled. "_You should try to sleep for a while_."

Kai shook his head.

"_I think I'll hit the shower. I feel like I've run a fucking marathon or something_."

Tala looked at him. His face was pale as a sheet, his eyes bloodshot and there were still tiny drops of the cold sweat clinging to his forehead. His hair was a mess, and his lips were dry and almost as pale as the rest of his face. Tala kissed him on the cheek and gave a little smile.

"_You still look gorgeous, though_."

"_I doubt that_."

Kai gently pried Tala off, and got on his feet. He had to put a hand on the bedside table to keep his balance. The world had started to spin a little. He hated these lingering effects. But he had suffered through them before. Once he even got out and won a beybattle in that state (he had passed out once he was back in the locker room, but that was besides the point). Tala hurried to put an arm around his waist to keep him up.

"_I'm ok, Tal_," he said, blinking and trying to find focus. "_Just a little fall in the blood pressure. It's ok now_."

"_Shut up, and just let me help you_."

"_I can walk by myself, I promise_."

"_I don't care. I'll help you anyway, you stubborn, proud moron_."

"_You're one to talk, you pigheaded carrot top_."

Tala snorted and helped him in to the bathroom, and then he was shoved out. Kai basically shut the door in his face. Tala managed to persuade him not to lock it, in case he fell over or something. And he sat down on the bed, cursing a bit.

((_It's not like I haven't seen him undressed before. What's he got to hide? But then again, I just might have thrown myself at him. And I don't really think that seducing a half-dead guy is a good idea. And it's probably not that enjoyable. __**Huh**__? Where the hell did __**that **__come from? Bry's right, I am a freaking perv. But at some point phoenix-boy, I'm gonna go exploring every inch of your body, be sure of that._))

They came down for dinner a few hours later. Kai was still a bit wobbly, so Tala held a firm grip around his waist, ignoring the phoenix's objections. They sat down by the table, Tala shoved Spencer over to another chair so that he could sit next to Kai.

"Well, look who's back from the dead," Ian smirked. "Or are you a zombie now? You look like one, ya know."

"Shut your trap, shorty," Tala retorted. "Or I'll give you a headache that'll make Kai's look like nothing."

Ian growled, and Kai sighed.

"Quit yapping, you two," he said. _"Nyet,_ Ian, I'm not a zombie, but I still have a headache, so keep quiet or I'll _sew_your mouth shut."

Bryan grinned.

"He's back."

Kai's teammates looked rather relieved. If Kai could make that kind of threats, he was out of the woods. They ordered their food and while they waited for it Tala inquired about their day.

"Did you go to the water park?" he asked.

"Nah," Spencer said. "Didn't seem fair to go without you two."

"The rich-boy took us to that big motherfucking church, whatever it's called," Bryan said.

"Nôtre Dame," Kenny said. "It was beautiful."

"Yeah," Rei sighed. "Until we were kicked out of it."

Tala choked on his soda.

"You got kicked out of Nôtre Dame?" he blurted out. "The hell did you do?"

The Demolition Boyz shrugged.

"They cursed a lot," Max said, cautiously. "The priests got a bit upset."

"Don't you know you're not supposed to curse in churches, you barbaric morons?" Kai asked.

"We were just admiring the place," Ian defended them. "It aint our fault that we weren't taught fancy language."

"Yes, it is," Tala said. "You didn't pay attention in any language class. I'm surprised that you even learned English."

"Hey, cyberbrain! Just cause you've got a shitload of programs in your head doesn't mean that we all do."

"U-oh!" Bryan said. "Ian played the 'cyber' card."

Tala's eyes turned ice cold and had brutal death written in them. Spencer kept Ian firmly on his chair, and Kai and Bryan held Tala down. The redhead struggled to break free, and Kai and Bryan struggled to keep him down. The Bladebreakers stared in horror at how much raw strength it took to keep Tala from attacking the shorter teen.

"Let me go!" Tala hissed. "I'll kill that fucking midget motherfucker!"

"Who're you calling midget? I'll snap your skinny little neck, you goddamn cocksucker!"

Tala made another attempt to attack him when he heard the last word, growling like the hound of Baskerville.

"Spencer," Bryan said between clenched teeth. "Get Ian the hell _out of here._"

Spencer nodded and grabbed the violet-haired blader by his shirt and carried him out of the dining hall. Ian hissed, much like his bitbeast would have, and tried to break loose.

"I'll strangle that little shithead! I'll fucking smother him in his sleep!" Tala growled.

"No, you won't," Kai said and tightened his grip on the wolf's body. "Calm the fuck down."

"Go fuck yourself, Kai!"

"_That_ was just really freaking unnecessary, Tala," the phoenix growled. "Now, sit the hell _down_ or I'll knock you flat out, I swear."

The wolf calmed himself a little, however it was clear that he was still _very_ pissed. Kai collapsed back down on his chair, the room had started to spin again. Rei picked up on it and asked;

"Kai? You ok? You're wicked pale."

"I'm fine," he said and tried to focus on something to make the world stop what it was doing. "Just got a bit... dizzy." He began to fall of his chair, but Bryan was just passing him and caught him. He glared at Tala.

"Happy now, you retarded bitch?" he asked. "You oughta fucking know that he aint supposed to strain himself like that after a shitting migraine! He's gonna be all faint and wobbly for days. Way to go, Tal." He turned his attention to his bluenette friend. Tala blushed.

"I'm sorry, Kai," he said. "Didn't mean to get you sick again."

"Tala," Kai said, in a low, tired voice.

"What?"

"Shut up."

**Xxx xXx xxX**

[1] _moya lyubimaya_ means 'my beloved one'. See, Tala can be sweet too, if he puts a little effort in to it. But I sincerely doubt he'd say that in public. Kai would bite his head off.

_Nyet_ means 'no', but I'm sure most of you knew that.

Haha, imagine the horror of seeing and hearing Teletubbies on every monitor in your surveillance room for three hours straight and not being able to turn it off, because someone hacked your system. I'd kill myself. I **hate** those little things... And I don't think Boris likes them either.

And migraines are the worst thing ever known to mankind! Believe me, I get them several times a month. I'm completely fucked up for days afterwards. Wobbly, lightheaded, nauseous, and all that. They're unpredictable little buggers as well...

And Ian played the 'cyber' card. And that's just stupid. Because that card is like calling Ian a midget. Not a good idea if you wanna keep your pulse...


	7. Of pools and pasts

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**xXx xXx xXx**

After dinner they went back up to their rooms to chill out. They had called Oliver to tell him that they'd go to the water park the following day. Kai was still not steady on his feet, so Rei supported him, and the phoenix-boy was not happy about it, and he made that perfectly clear. Bryan held Tala's arm in a firm grip, to prevent any trouble. Kenny, Max and Tyson trailed behind them, still full from the heavy dinner. In the hall, just outside their rooms, they met Spencer and Ian. Tala growled and immediately tried to jump the serpent. Bryan caught him in a firm grip, one arm around his neck and the other around his chest. Spencer grabbed Ian by his neck and held him in place. The two Russians yelled insults and threats at each other and Kai sighed.

"Seriously guys," he said. "Cut it out, both of you! Ian, you don't call Tala 'cyberbrain', ok? That's _tabu._ Tala, you don't call Ian 'midget'. That's _also_ tabu. Now act your fucking age and stop your bitching."

The other two growled at him, but he didn't even look at them. Instead he spoke to Bryan and Spencer.

"We'll have to keep them apart until they can think straight again."

"Uh-huh," Spencer agreed.

"We'll keep Tala under control," Bryan said to the dirty blonde. "If you can handle Ian."

"_Da_. No problem."

They went into the Bladebreakers' room. Rei put Kai down in the couch, Bryan put Tala next to him and sat down as well. Spencer sat down with Ian on Kai's bed, and Rei and the other Bladebreakers sat down in the arm chairs and on the floor. Max had just turned on the tv, when a video-call came in to Dizzi. It was Mr. Dickinson.

"Hello there," he greeted with a big smile. "How is my star team doing?"

"Hello, Mr. D," the team greeted. Kai grunted.

"We're good," Max smiled. "Paris is awesome!" The others nodded their agreement. Mr. D looked at Kai, who was rubbing his temples with a tired look.

"How are you feeling, Kai?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just had a migraine. And then Tala and Ian got in a fight, and now I'm kinda tired."

"Tala and Ian?" the portly man asked. "Oh, so you really got them out?"

"Yeah, we're finally out of there," Bryan said, and leaned over so that the head of the BBA could see him. "Kai never breaks a promise, you know."

Mr. D chuckled.

"Good," he said. "What are your plans next?"

"We're staying here for a few more days," Kenny answered. "And then we're off to Rome, to hang with Enrique for a week."

"And then it's Greece, and then we'll head home," Rei continued. "So it'll be another two and a half weeks before we're back."

"I hope you will enjoy it," Mr. Dickinson laughed. "You really deserved a little break. And Tala, Bryan, Ian and Spencer; You are most welcome to come back and stay with us until everything is safe."

"_Spasiba_, Mr. Dickinson," Tala said. [1]

The elderly man chuckled again and wished them good night. The two teams returned it in unison. Max turned the tv back on and they ended up watching an old Dracula movie, in French. Bryan snorted.

"What's wrong with these people? They dub everything! It totally ruins the whole fucking movie."

"They haven't dubbed it correctly either," Tala sighed. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if they even look at the films they dub."

"At least you understand what they say."

"Perhaps, but I've seen it in English as well, and let me tell you; this dubbing sucks."

"And here the fuckhead goes again," Ian snorted. "Telling us all how stupid we are for not understanding it."

"Ian!" Spencer warned.

Tala hissed and was just about to reply when Kai put a hand over his mouth. He made a protesting sound, but the phoenix didn't care. Bryan looked at his two teammates.

"Just shut the fuck up, both of you!" he said. "We won't let you guys kill each other now that we've finally got a chance at life. So, apologize and fucking behave!"

Kai let go of Tala, and the redhead pouted. Ian refused to look at his team captain, he sat with his arms crossed, making a good imitation of Kai.

"Ian," the dirty blonde said. "You started it, so you go first."

"Not a chance in hell I'm apologizing to that bitch."

"Apologize."

"Uh-uh. Not gonna." He suddenly squealed when Spencer pulled his hand up behind his back, and held it there, almost dislocating it. "Ok. Ok! Just let go of me, you ape!"

He glowered at Tala.

"Sorry," he muttered. "It's not your fault that you're a cyborg."

Tala screamed in rage and made a leap across the room to kill the serpent. Bryan and Kai jumped at him, and managed to knock him to the floor. They shouted at the others to help keep him down. Tala was cursing Ian to hell, and trying to get close enough to snap his neck. Soon Kai and Bryan more or less sat on his arms, Rei held on to one of his legs, Tyson the other, and Max laid across his back. And even then it was hard to control him. Spencer had punched Ian across the face and knocked him out. He now took the unconscious teen and threw him up on his shoulder and carried him to their room.

"Tala can _not_ sleep in our room tonight," Bryan said through clenched teeth. "Ian's gonna be fucking _dead_ in the morning if he does." He looked at Kai. The phoenix shook his head.

"I know," he said. "But don't for a second think he's bunking with me! I don't want to be suffocated."

"You're his goddamned boyfriend! Take some fucking responsibility!"

"He's like a freaking band aid! You know that!"

"Shut the fuck up, or I'll kill you! Tala's gonna sleep in your bed, and that's final!"

The phoenix growled, and the others were worried. They had a raging bio-mechanically enhanced teen in their grasp, struggling to break free and commit murder, and they were arguing with _each other!_

"Cut it out, you two!" Rei cried. "He's gonna get loose."

Kai snorted and bent down to look Tala in the eyes, his glance like a steel rod.

"Tala, get a fucking grip on yourself," he hissed. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Like hell you would!" Tala hissed back. "You don't have the guts!"

Kai's eyes narrowed, and Bryan looked at him.

"Uh, Kai..." he said. "You're not gon-"

The second later a fist made contact with Tala's face. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it did make him come to his senses. He stared in surprise at his lover.

"Will you behave yourself now?" the phoenix asked. "Or will I have to punch you for real?"

Tala shook his head ever so slightly, all he could manage in his position. Kai nodded, and got to his feet. Bryan got up as well and signed for the others to back off. Tala got to his feet, and rubbed his cheek.

"I can't believe you just _punched_ me," he said. Kai snorted.

"I know you," he said. "And what it takes to stop you once you go berserk."

He gave a lopsided smile.

"Sorry, Tal."

The redhead stared at him for a moment, and then, to everyone's surprise, he started chuckling. He kissed Kai on the cheek.

"You're so hot when you're mad, _moya krasavitsa._"[2]

Kai sighed.

"I have a name, you know."

Bryan laughed. Tala pulled the phoenix close and smiled triumphantly. Kai rolled his eyes, but didn't back away. The falcon said goodnight, and went to tell off the shorter teen. He took Tala's key-card with him, just as a security measure. Kai herded Tala back to the couch and was promptly dragged onto his lap. The phoenix sighed but let him be. The others warily sat down as well. They were still a bit dumbfounded about both the terrifying fight and the sudden end to it. From the other room they heard a loud monologue in Russian. Max switched channels until they found something in English. This time it was the first Pirates of the Caribbean film. They came in at the scene where Jack Sparrow was fighting William Turner in the smithy. Tala sighed happily.

"What?" Kai asked suspiciously.

"Johnny Depp is God's gift to men," the wolf said in a dreamy voice. Kai snorted and raised an eyebrow.

"_And here I thought I was the only one for you_," he said. "_But by all means, don't let me interfere. If it's him you want, I won't get in the way_." His serious tone had Tala's eyes widening, and the others looked at them, worried about another fight.

"No, Kai..." Tala stuttered. "It's not like I'm _serious._ You know that, right? I love you, and he's really _nothing_ in comparison..."

Then he saw the teasing smirk on the phoenix-boy's lips, and blushed.

"You set me up!" he blurted out. "You sneaky fucking bastard."

Kai's smirk turned in to a grin, showing his perfect white teeth. Tala pretended to slap him, and he chuckled. The Bladebreakers let out the breath they'd been holding. Kai was really scary when he used that tone. They went back to watching the film, but around the last half hour, the team captain yawned and dislodged himself from Tala's lap.

"Hey!" the redhead objected. "What're you doing?"

"Going to bed," Kai answered. "If you haven't noticed, it's been a _rough_ day for me."

Xxx xXx xxX

The next day they went to the water park. They were completely taken aback by the size of the complex. Oliver laughed at their stunned faces, and started to move towards the doors, but found himself more or less run over by one Japanese, one Chinese, one American and three Russian teens. Behind him he heard a sigh and a muttered curse in Russian, and then Kai and Tala joined him, along with Kenny.

"Let's just hope they act civilized," Kai said. Tala smirked.

"You worry about your team, angel, and I'll worry about mine."

"Yeah, and _that's_ what worries me."

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"If any of them starts bitching, you'll bitch back, and then it'll be really messy."

Tala snorted.

They got changed and headed out to the pools, and found the others already engaged in various activities. Ian had joined Max on top of one of the water slides, Spencer just splashed into the water from another one. Bryan found himself in the unfortunate position of being caught in the middle of a water splashing-fight between Rei and Tyson. Kenny sat down on a lounge-chair, seemingly uninterested in going in the water. Oliver sat down on the edge of the pool and watched the other teens' antics. Tala looked at Kai, and focused on not drooling. The phoenix wore a pair of surfing shorts in black, with an embroidered phoenix in scarlet red on the left leg. His muscular chest was pale, and the skin seemed like velvet, apart from where networks of whitened scars showed. It was slightly roughed in the cool air, and the muscles danced with his every movement.

((_**God!**__ I can't fucking believe that that...__**angel**__, is mine! And better yet, that I'm __**his**_.))

He realized that he was staring, and had to do something before anyone caught on to his apparent lack of speech. With a mischievous grin he walked up behind his boyfriend, who stood by the edge and tried to get Tyson and Rei to let Bryan go. He kissed the back of his neck, and then put his hands on his back and pushed. Kai lost balance completely and splashed into the water. He re-emerged, spitting and hissing.

"The hell are you doing?"

"Well, we're at a water park," Tala smirked. "So that means you're supposed to be_in_ the water."

"Damn you, Tala," he coughed. "I think I swallowed half of the fucking pool."

Tala began to laugh, however it was interrupted by someone lifting him up from behind and throwing him into the pool as well.

"What the fuck?" he growled when he resurfaced, looking like a drowned dog. He looked up and found Spencer standing there, grinning.

"You're supposed to be _in_ the water, Tala," the dirty blonde said. "Didn't you just say so yourself?"

He jumped in as well. Bryan came swimming up to them, looking relieved. He put an arm up on the edge to stay up.

"Those two are dangerous!" he stated. "Fucking hell, I'm half-drowned here."

"Join the club," Kai said, still coughing. "Goddammit, Tala. You're gonna _pay_ for this."

Ian appeared out of the water and clang on to Spencer to stay above the surface. The ledge under water was too far down for him to stand on. Tyson and Rei came swimming towards the gathered Russians, Max just came splashing down from a slide not far from them.

"Yo, guys! Why are you ju-" Tyson called, and stopped. "Whoa! What the hell has _happened_ to you?" Rei had reached him, and he too had stopped to stare at the backs of the five Russians. Their skin were basically maps, tracing back years of pain. Scars in great numbers covered them. Some small, some large, some long and some short. Round ones reminded them a little too much of bullet-holes. Some were still reddish in color and others pale as snow against the rest of the skin. And as they turned around, the boys could see that it wasn't just their backs. No, their chests had suffered the same. Rei finally understood why Kai always wanted to change clothes in private, and never went anywhere without his shirt on. Kai looked at his teammates, trying hard to look careless about it. It failed, because the three friends could see the quick flash of shame flickering through his eyes, before his cool look came back.

"The Abbey happened," he said. They stared at them, still speechless.

"What did you think?" Ian said. "That it was a _nice_ place? That we ran away 'cause we were _bored_?"

But the Bladebreakers, and Oliver, all stared at the phoenix. Tala took notice of it, and placed himself protectively in front of his boyfriend.

"Kai," Max gasped. "They did it to you _too?"_

"_I knew this was a bad idea_," he muttered to his fellow Russians.

"_You never told them, did you_?" Bryan said in a low voice. The bluenette shook his head. "_For fucks sake, Kai. You can't hold everything inside. You'll explode_."

"_I can handle it, Bry_."

He looked over Tala's shoulder at his team, saw their baffled expressions. The redhead gave them a steady glance, he could tell because they had all shrunk in the water.

"Why is _that_ so surprising?" the wolf questioned. "It was the same for _all_ of us. Kai was probably wo-"

"Tala, shut your trap," Kai growled behind him. The redhead immediately closed his mouth, and looked over his shoulder at the blue-haired teen. He was frowning, and the crimson eyes gave out a warning that _that_ subject was confidential. Tala gave a slight nod, to make sure his phoenix knew that he would keep quiet. However, he was going to have a chat with Kai about this secrecy. Bryan was right in his comment. It wasn't a good idea to keep all of this locked up. Better to vent it, even if the others didn't understand. Then at least it would be out, and he wouldn't have to be ashamed. But he knew how deep the bluenette's emotional scars went. It was so hard for him to reveal anything about himself, to give away the slightest hint of what he considered weakness in him. It was the same for all of them. Living all their lives in a place like that, where humanity was frowned upon and a cold, demonic heart was the ideal, sure had it's impact on their emotional life.

Ian saved the day by simply splashing something resembling a tidal wave over the stunned teens. That proved to be an efficient way of breaking their stares.

"Snap out of it, you twerps!" he demanded. "We're here to have some fucking _fun_! So, let's hit those damn slides. I bet I can get down the fastest from any one of them!"

That got the attention of the now half-drowned Bladebreakers. Tyson turned around and swam as fast as he could towards the biggest slide. Ian grinned and followed. And soon it was a team competition. Kenny had managed to stay out of the water, and acted as a judge, along with Oliver. The green-haired blader had realized that he was no match for these people when it came to activities of this nature. He preferred peace and quiet. But the contrasts, and the similarities, of the two teams were quite funny. And his sympathies went out to Kai and Tala, who were trying their best to keep their teams in line, and failing miserably. Both teams were extremely competitive, overconfident, and _loud_ to say the least. He was glad he didn't have to travel with them. Just having them here for these ten days was a bit of a challenge. But it was entertaining.

It was almost seven pm before they left. Tyson had began to complain about hunger, and his team knew from experience that he was dead annoying when he was hungry. So, they got out of the warm water and got changed again. Kai felt relieved to get back in his clothes. The fact that his team had seen the scars had made him feel naked and exposed. If not even weak and ashamed. His intellect knew that he had nothing to be ashamed of, but the rest of him flinched by the whole idea. As long as he wore clothes, he could pretend that they didn't exist. That the Abbey, and all that had happened there, was merely a bad dream. But he knew it wasn't. He only hoped that they wouldn't pester him with questions, but the likelihood of them doing just that was extremely high. And he knew that his friends and brothers would try to convince him that telling his story was the right thing to do.

((_Motherfucking piece of __**shitting**__ situation! What the hell will I do now? You really got yourself in deep shit now, Kai. Way to go. What the hell were you __**thinking**__, going to a public bath? You're the stupidest person to ever walk the face of the earth_.))

He kept his distance to everyone on the way back to the hotel. He did not utter a word. The Demolition Boyz spoke enough to last a month in his world. The familiar anguish clawed away at his inside, and all he wanted to do was to sleep. He would even happily take one of his damned pills if it had been offered to him at that moment. The ice that had covered the mysterious Kai Hiwatari was beginning to crack, and he was sure that the others would _not_ like what hid underneath it. The phoenix _himself_ did not like what hid underneath it. The failed experiment, the freak, the murde- _No!_ He was not going to even think that. He shuddered, and forcefully pushed the thoughts away.

Tala had taken notice of his beloved one's obvious pain. Kai could hide his feelings from most, but Tala knew. He could read the bluenette like an open book. And he was worried, to say the least. Kai had never seemed so unstable before. And that weird reaction to his touch during the migraine attack... As he had pondered on it, he knew that it was more than a act of instinctive self defense. It had been more to it than that. So, what the hell was going on in Kai's head? And why was he keeping it from them? He had closed like a clam at the water park. Of course he had acted his usual charming self during the rest of the stay, but Tala had almost heard the locks being put in place around his thoughts. That night, he ignored his boyfriend's objections and crept into his bed. Maybe Kai needed his presence, even though he wouldn't admit it. So when Kai tried to keep his personal space, Tala told him to shut up and go to bed. The rest of them had smiled at their discussion. They all took it for general clinginess on his part, and he was content with that misbelief. And so, when he had finally gotten Kai under the covers, he laid down and put his baby koala-tactic in to effect. The phoenix really had no other option than to remain where he was. Tala shamelessly used his superhuman strength to keep him close. Eventually he drifted off to sleep, sure that Kai had done the same. Now, Tala was an extremely light sleeper, and would be wide awake within a split second, but it took him a while to realize that he was alone in the bed. That made all his alarms go off. Damned Kai and his stealthy ninja tricks! He looked around the room, and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, when he saw a familiar figure seated on the window seat. The phoenix looked out the window at the pitch black night of Paris, humming a low tune. He had his forearms resting on his knees, and he kept passing the blue beyblade that was Dranzer's home between his hands. It was a mechanical movement, one he always made when his mind was occupied with other things. The bit glowed slightly in the dark, as if the bird residing in it tried to comfort her master without disturbing the others. Tala got out of the bed and approached the bluenette. The latter didn't even seem to notice his presence at first, and so Tala got a good look at him. He looked dreadfully tired, his eyes red around its' edges, and the curve of his mouth was one of sadness. Suddenly the eyes looked up at him, a brief flash of pain in them.

"Kai?" Tala whispered. "Are you ok?"

Kai looked out the window again, looking like he was deliberating with himself. Just when Tala was about to repeat his question, the younger boy looked back at him again.

"No, I'm not ok, Tal," he said. "I haven't been for a long time. I'm sick."

Tala froze to the spot.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

And Ian, that idiot, did it again! Maybe he likes to live dangerous. And pissing off Tala is really to live dangerous. And probably not long...

And Kai punched Tala in the face. Hm, I guess that's what you call tough love...

Will Kai confess his _secret_ to Tala? That's for me to know and you to find out.

[1]_Spasiba _means 'thank you'

[2]_ moya krasavitsa_ means 'my beautiful one'

Oh, and I'm gonna give a heads up about later in the story! It's gonna get dark. So dark, in fact that it will be more like pitch black...But I've got a plan for it. Promise.


	8. Of tears and traumas

**Warnings: **See chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter: **detailed scenes of violence**. Sensitive readers are strictly advised to skip the chapter.

**xXx xXx xXx**

"_S-sick_?" Tala whispered. "_What do you mean – sick_?" A thousand possibilities flashed through his mind, each one worse than the other. Kai looked up at him, sad and tired.

"_In here_," he said and tapped his forehead with a finger. "_It's breaking_."

Tala sat down beside him on the window seat. He felt scared and confused.

"_What's wrong with your head_? _It's not...the big C, is it_?"

The phoenix shook his head.

"_Then, what is it? What's wrong, angel_?"

"_Everything_," Kai sighed. "_I can't sleep, cause I have nightmares and flashbacks every single night. And when I can't sleep, I get migraines. So they prescribed me these sleeping pills, in a dose that can knock out a fucking horse. But the funny thing is that I can only take them when I '__**have'**__ to, or I'll be addicted to them in a heart beat. And the pills give me more migraines. And dizziness, more nightmares, and hallucinations. I've seen all kinds of weird things. Worms crawling out of my arms, the fucking rabbit-guy from Donnie Darko, stuff like that_." He gave a bitter, lopsided smile. "_It's a downward spiral really. They wanted me on anti-depressives, and to go to therapy like three fucking times a week. I refused. Not cause I don't want to, even though that's true too. But because I __**can't**__. I can't bring myself to talk about it. You and the others know why I'm messed up. You went through it too, and you understand, cause you're just as messed up as me. But to the shrinks I'm just an exotic case, an enigma to be figured out. It pisses me off. Mr. D. managed to strike a deal. If I can hold myself together enough to lead my team, I won't have to go on the pills, or take that fucking therapy. But if I crack, they'll take me off my position as captain and probably off the team as well, until I'm well enough to get back in the game_."

Tala tried to process the information. Was his beloved phoenix-boy on the edge to a complete mental breakdown? And how was it possible that no one knew?

"_What's-_"

"_PTSD_."

"_What does that mean_?"

"_It means that I'm so weak and pathetic that I can't even handle my own past, or my memories. The slightest thing triggers it. As I think you noticed when I had the migraine. The way you grabbed me caused an attack. I had a flashback and my body reacted to defend itself from what it thought was __**real**__. That's how bad it is. Fuck, they even tried to talk me into checking in to a psychiatric ward for a while. To 'rest up, recover and accept what had happened'. And the fuckheads told me that if I didn't treat it, with the meds and all that shit, it would probably result in a premature death. Meaning that they thought I'd __**kill**__ myself. Fucking assholes. It aint happenin', Tal. How the hell would people react if I was put in a fucking mental institution? I can't let it happen. Everything I've worked for will be ruined_." Tears ran down his painted cheeks, however he didn't seem aware of it. And that was probably a good thing. Kai hated the mere **idea** of someone seeing him cry. "_And it's taking its' toll on my body too. My immune system is a fucking mess. I've been sick three times this winter. And you know that I'm never sick. Ever. A cold, a fucking flu – complete with shivering fits and a sky high fever, and the loveliest thing of them all; a stomach flu. I' don't think I ever puked as much in my life, as I did then. I don't have the same stamina as I used to either. I used to run a mile* every morning. I had to cut it in half to make it. My asthma is back, and having real good time._"

"_And your team? Do they know_?"

"_Nyet. They don't know a fucking thing. Not about this, not about the Abbey, not about Voltaire. Nothing_."

"_Why not? They're your friends. Don't they deserve to know? Don't __**you**__ deserve a chance to vent all of this_?"

"_Maybe. But seriously, Tala. Do you really think they can even begin to understand it? Evil in their world, is a cranky teacher giving them a C. Pain in their world is a sprained ankle, or a bruise. If I tell them all of the shit that has happened in our lives, hell, their brains will explode_. _I envy them, you know. I wish I could think like that. That my biggest problem in the world would be to come up with a good excuse to skip math class, to go home and play video-games_."

"_Kai,_" Tala said and caressed his wet face. "_Listen to me. Spencer spent two months in his bed, crying, this winter. Ian stopped eating for God knows how long. We had to force him – Ian, the human pig - to eat. Bryan... well, he's been drinking a __**lot**__. I hadn't seen him sober for months before you guys got here. I have days when I can't even get out of bed. I'm not trying to lessen what it is you're feeling, shit, you're probably worse off than any of us. But I want you to know that __**we**__ understand. We are your family, angel. So please don't keep these things from us. Don't keep them from __**me. **__I love you, and it kills me to see you suffer._"

"_I love you too, Tala_," Kai said, and managed to smile a little. "_You are everything to me, you know that, right_?" He bit his lower lip, a gesture that Tala loved. He was so sensual, but so innocently boyish when he did. "_I didn't realize that it hurt you too. This... goddamned darkness_. _Prosti menya, __moĭ lyubimyĭ __._" [1]

He reached out a hand and stroke the line of Tala's chin, so gently that it could have been just a brush of air. Then he buried a hand in his red hair and just as gently pulled him closer. Tala knew what he wanted, and decided that he'd make sure Kai wouldn't be able to think clearly when he was done. After that confession, those tears, he was _not_ supposed to have to act strong. He put one arm around the small of the bluenette's back, and the other hand held on to his neck. The touch of their lips, Tala's cool and Kai's scorching hot, sent a shockwave of heat through their bodies. Tala felt the phoenix's hands gripping the fabric of the back of his t-shirt, and then slipping underneath it. His nails scraped over Tala's skin, causing him to moan slightly and deepen his kiss even further. Kai was going to forget for a little while. He was going to be happy for a little while. His hands moved determinately over the blue-haired boy's body, exploring it and claiming it all for himself. Eventually they had to separate, before things got out of hand. Tala made a small whimper, not really wanting to stop. But he knew he had to, or they would surely wake the others up. But oh, had he tasted blood, and wanted more. Somehow he had to get Kai all to himself, and do some _really_ naughty stuff. The fire within Kai seemed contagious, and he reveled in it. None of them were unaffected by the last passionate minutes, both breathing heavily and still holding on to each other for support. Kai's crimson eyes glowed in the dark, like twin flames, and he smiled. He kissed Tala once more, a tender kiss that lingered. Then he curled up against the wolf's chest and gave out a relaxed sigh. Tala put his arms around him and kissed his blue hair. After a while he noticed that the other boy's breathing had become calm and quiet. Kai had finally fallen asleep, most likely exhausted from the painful confession and the fervent kissing they'd engaged in.

((_How you have suffered, Kai. Damned Boris. Damn him to hell for what he did to you! To all of us. And may Voltaire burn in the deepest pit of hell for all eternity. That is one murder I'd be happy to commit. And I'll see to it that you are never hurt again! The one who hurts you will die, be sure of that. God, I love you so fucking much!_)) He held his loved one tighter, and eventually he too drifted off to sleep.

Xxx xXx xxX

The next morning, the rain was pouring down over Paris, like some higher power had decided to relocate the Niagara Falls to France, and spread them over a whole city. Tala woke up, and found himself in the same position in which he had fallen asleep. Kai was still asleep in his arms, his face almost serene in the glowing morning light. He felt his heart warm up. The phoenix was _still_ asleep. In _his_ arms. He must have been sleeping for hours, because Tala would have felt if he had woke up. The wolf placed a new kiss on his slate blue hair and the boy made a small whimper, and moved in his embrace. Then the deep crimson eyes opened, and Kai looked up at Tala. He still looked very tired, but not to the degree he had been last night. Something of a smile tugged at his mouth.

"_Hey there_," Tala whispered.

"_Hey._" Kai yawned and looked around the room. The team were still asleep, which meant it was still early morning. The only people Kai knew in the world who were later sleepers than the Bladebreakers, were the the Demolition Boyz. Given the chance, any one of them could easily sleep 'til late afternoon. Ian was probably the worst. And the noisiest. His unusually large nose made him snore, like a three foot tall, skin-covered thunderstorm. That noise alone could trigger migraines. He wanted to press his luck a little, and see if it was possible to get an hour or so more of sleep. He pulled out of Tala's embrace, smiling at the small sound of protest coming from the redhead. He took his hand and led him over to the bed.

"_I need more sleep_," he said. "_And so do you. You get cranky if you don't get your nine hours_."

"_I do __**not**_!"

"_You punched Bryan in the face once, when he woke you up at seven, after you'd been up 'til midnight. You threw a plate full of fucking porridge in Spencer's face, when he told you that you had a bad hair day. And then there was the time_-"

"_Ok, I get it! So maybe I don't like to be waken up by people or have discussions before breakfast. Please don't be a bitch about it_."

"_Just wanted you to be aware of it. You scare people, you know_."

"_You are so damn annoying sometimes_."

"_I learned from the best_."

They hardly got in the bed and cuddled up before Kai was fast asleep again. That was one of his problems. Once he managed to fall asleep on his own, he could sleep for days on end. It was like his body made an attempt to compensate the lack of rest, and totally overdoing it. It was almost noon when he woke up again. As he looked around, he noticed that his team was absent, but that his family was there. Tala still laid next to him, gently stroking the slate bangs out of his face. The other three were seated in the couch, watching what appeared to be Sleepy Hollow. It was in English, much to his surprise. He sat up and tried to shake the sleep off, though his eyes still screamed for him to close them again and lay back down.

"_Well, look who's out of the fucking coma_," Ian said after noticing his movement. "_You used to be a light sleeper, Kai. That noisy kid, Tyson, woke __**us**__ up – and we were in the other room. And you didn't even __**move**_."

"_I was just tired_," he said. "_It's been a few days since I slept_."

"_Uh-huh_," Bryan said. "_Tal told us about what you said last night. I can't fucking believe you didn't tell us back in Russia, or before, for that matter. You are the most insanely stubborn, secretive damned creature to ever walk the face of the earth_."

Kai looked at Tala with an arched brow. The redhead blushed a little.

"_I couldn't lie to them, Kai_," he said. "_They asked me what was going on, so I answered them. Sorry_."

Kai shrugged.

"_Whatever_," he said. "_As long as you didn't tell the others. You didn't, I hope_?"

"_Nyet_," Spencer said, still looking at the screen. "_Tal pulled his 'scary-card', so they got out of here as fast as they could. That weed-haired rich-boy invited them over. They left 'bout an hour and a half ago_."

The phoenix nodded and headed for the bathroom, to force his body to wake up by means of wast amounts of ice-cold water.

xXx xXx xXx

Meanwhile the Bladebreakers sat in Oliver's living-room. The French blader himself had gotten a phone-call, and was somewhere else in the house. They were all thinking bout the same things, however it was Max that outed the first question.

"Rei," he said, thoughtfully. "Have _you_ ever seen Kai's scars? I mean, you guys share room, after all."

The neko shook his head.

"Never," he said. "He never changes clothes when I'm in the room, and he always wears a t-shirt when he sleeps. I just thought it was one of his quirks."

"But there was so _many_ of them!" Tyson said. "He was covered!"

The others nodded.

"What has happened to him?" Max asked, more to himself than anyone. But Rei answered anyway.

"I don't know, Maxie. But I'm beginning to get why he's never telling us anything about his past. Those things happened in the Abbey. And we knew it was a bad place, but I never thought it was _that_ bad. But how he got them, that's the question."

"Child abuse," Kenny said. "It's kinda obvious that they were beaten."

"Do you think Mr. D. knows?" Max said. "He's known Kai for a long time, after all."

"If anyone does, it's him," Kenny said. "But I doubt that Kai will ever tell us. I don't think he wants anyone to know about it."

"He probably thinks it'll make him look weak," Rei stated. "Kai hates every sign of weakness, we know that."

"What if we asked one of the others?" Tyson said. "Like Tala or something. He is more talkative than the rest of them."

"I don't think he's going to either. It was kinda clear at the water park that he's not talking unless Kai says it's ok."

Tyson frowned.

"I'd really like to know what the hell it _was_ that Tala was gonna say when Kai interrupted him."

Now it was Kenny's turn to frown.

" He said 'It was the same for all of us. Kai was probably wo-'. So the question is really what word he almost said. I think it was 'worse', or 'worst'."

"So," Tyson said. "What does it mean?"

"That whatever happened to them, it was worst for Kai," Rei said, slowly and thoughtfully. "But how can that be? He's Voltaire's _grandson_. He can't seriously have let that happen to his own family, could he?"

They all shuddered at the mere thought of it. The strong, collected, damn right unbeatable Kai, being beaten like dog, by his own grandather. That was a terrifying thought.

xXx xXx xXx

"_Kai, how about a snack? We can_-" Ian looked at the phoenix-boy in the arm-chair next to the couch. "_Aw, fuck. He's asleep again_. _That's like the third time in five hours_."

The others looked at the sleeping figure of their 'little brother'. Kai was curled up in the chair, resting his head on the armrest, and a small frown showed on his unpainted face. Tala, sitting in the chair next to his, reached out a hand and stroked the midnight-blue hair on the back of his head.

"_Let him be, Ian_," the wolf said. "_I don't think he's slept more than a few hours in the last week. I honestly don't know __**how**__ he keeps on going_."

"_He aint gonna be able to keep it up_," Spencer said. "_Not for long if it's as bad as you said_."

"_I think it's worse than he told you_," Bryan said to Tala. "_You know Kai as well as we do. If he even admits to having a problem, be damn sure that he'll make it look as petty as he possibly can_."

"_The doctors think he'll try to kill himself_," Tala whispered. "_Do you think he's even told them about that time in the Abbey_?"

"_Fuck no_!" Ian snorted. "_You really think they'd give him any pills whatsoever if they knew what happened_?"

Kai suddenly moved, rather abruptly and a flicker of pain showed on his face. He seemed to curl up even more, and one of his arms flew up over his head – as if to cover it from damage.

_**/**__Boris' fist landed on his chin, and sent him flying a good ten feet, and hitting the snow-covered stones of the Abbey's back courtyard. He got to his feet as fast as he could, and almost immediately, a new punch came. In his stomach this time, making him fold like a piece of paper. But he let out no sound, made no face whatsoever. This seemed to piss Boris off even more. He pulled his head up by his hair and punched him in the face again. He could feel his lips cracking and feel the blood starting to flow. The impact had him swaying, and made it hard to focus. The surroundings turned from crystal clear to a hazy blur and back again. However, he was still on his feet. But the next hit, in his stomach again, was followed by a blow to his head and he hit ground. A steel-capped boot slammed in to his ribs, and he could feel them breaking. Next kick hit him in the back, frighteningly close to his kidneys. For the next minutes, it was just kicks. Pain in his ribs, pain in his back, pain in his head, pain in his knees, pain in his gut. _

_The sound of his body breaking was rivaled by the sound of cruel laughter everywhere around him. They were laughing at his pain, his humiliation. A dark figure in the corner of his almost blocked up eye was laughing louder than anyone else. 'But you are my blood! How can you let him do this? How can you laugh at this?' he though. But he knew full well who had ordered the beating. Then the cruel voice reached him._

"_Beating him up is not going to be enough, Boris," he said. "He's too stubborn. Use the whip. And keep it up until he screams or pass out. Just make sure he survives. It will be hard to cover up that filthy brat's death. People might start asking questions if he disappears. Look at this, children. This is the consequence of trusting people. Trust is a weakness, that has to be beaten out of you. He's weak. He deserves to be laughed at." the dark figure came closer to him, but he didn't look up. "You are such a disappointment, Kai. So weak, despite all I've done for you. I hope that you learn from this, or I will have Boris repeat it until you grow some backbone. Good day to you, grandson."_

_Kai knew that the others were there too. Boris had made a point of letting everyone see this. But he knew that they could not intervene, or else they'd be punished too. Then the first, burning lash of the whip shot up in his back. He clenched his teeth, determined not to give a slightest sign of pain. He'd rather die than let them hear him scream. Soon his entire back felt like it was on fire, and he could feel the blood pouring from the wounds. It was hard to remain conscious, but he knew that his life, and the respect of the others (mainly Boris and Voltaire) depended on how long he could keep up. If he passed out too quick, they would only have further proof of his weakness. The broken ribs made it hard to breathe, and he felt nauseous. It went on like that, kicks and lashes following each others like a steady rhythm, until finally he cracked. He felt his body go limp and darkness took hold of him. The last thing he heard was Boris telling the others not to help him. He was supposed to be man enough to get back on his feet by himself._**/**

Distorted voices reached him through the pain, familiar voices. But they weren't a part of the memory. What was happening? The voices spoke again, said his name. Someone was holding him down, and he instinctively reacted by fighting back.

"_Kai? Wake up, goddammit! __**Kai**__! Tala, hold him the fuck down, he's wriggling like a fucking worm!_"

"_I'm doing the best I can, Ian_," another voice answered. "_I can't hold on too tight, or it'll get worse_."

It suddenly got hard to breathe, it was like his lungs refused to take in any air, despite his attempts to take deep breaths. The sweat poured off him, and he tried to force himself awake. The voices were still talking, both to him and each other.

"_Kai? __**Fuck**__! He's having an asthma attack! Spencer, check his bag for an inhaler or something. Fast_!"

"_Come on, Kai! Wake the fuck up_!"

"_Can't find the inhaler, Bry. You sure he's got one_?"

"_Of course he has! If you got fucking asthma, you gotta have an inhaler, or you'll fucking die! Ian, go help him look_!"

The panic held him in a firm grip, but he fought to wake up. He couldn't give in, it wasn't even an option. Summoning his last strength, he sat straight up and opened his eyes. He still couldn't breathe, but it helped to be upright.

"_He's awake_!" Bryan exclaimed. "_Where's that damned inhaler_?"

Tala put his hands on the sides of his face and looked him in the eyes.

"_Try to breathe calmly, Kai. You can't panic, it'll only make it worse. Come on, slow breaths. You've done this before_."

Kai tried to do as he was told, but his body refused to let the panic subside. He felt lightheaded and his vision was hazy.

"_Found it_!" Ian exclaimed triumphantly.

"_Don't just stand there, you moron_!" Bryan snarled. "_He's turning __**blue**__ here_."

Next thing he knew, the much hated inhaler touched his lips and he let them give him the dose for him. He couldn't gather enough energy to lift his hand. Slowly his lungs began to admit air again, and he filled them up as best he could. His heart stopped racing, and he felt his muscles release the tension somewhat. He collapsed back onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"_You ok, buddy_?" Bryan asked to his left.

"_I'm fine_," he whispered. "_It's ok now_."

"_You don't look 'fine'_," Ian snorted next to Bryan. "_So, an honest fucking answer. __**Are**__ you ok_?"

He gave a faint smile.

"_No. Not really_." He swallowed hard, his mouth felt like sandpaper. "_I need water_."

Spencer went and poured a glass for him. He drank it up in one go, his hands shaking so hard he almost spilled it out. Tala took the glass from him as soon as he had emptied it.

"_So, what was that_?" Bryan asked. "_I've never seen you panic like that. And it freaked me out that you couldn't wake up either_. _Fucking hell, Kai. We thought you were dyin' or somethin'_."

Kai made an attempt to get up, but all his energy was spent. Bryan and Tala grabbed his arms and got him back in the arm-chair.

"_It was a nightmare, sort of. Maybe more of a flashback. About that day. The one that nearly killed me_." He sighed. "_It's one of the two I get most often. Almost every night. The second is the one about my parents_." He looked up at his friends, who were all watching him with concern. "_Sorry you had to see it. I can understand if it looks scary_."

Spencer made a humming sound.

"_How long have this been going on_?" he asked. "_Honest_."

"_Forever. Since before I left the Abbey_. _But I aint gonna lie to you. It's getting worse_."

"_Whatever happens in your head, Kai_," Bryan said. "_We got your back, alright? Just tell us when things are bad, and we'll help you somehow. Got it_?" The others nodded their agreement.

"_Got it_."

**Xxx xXx xxX**

So, now the family knows. But will the others ever learn the story of Kai Hiwatari? You'll see eventually.

Good thing that Kai managed to keep out of the psychiatric ward. He does have a few attitude problems, and I don't think they would be any good in a place like that...

*That's a metric mile, mind you. Ten kilometers.

[1]_Prosti menya, moĭ lyubimyĭ_ means 'forgive me, my beloved'

My inspiration for this chapter came mainly from the songs:

_Trust in Me_, by Siouxsie and the Banshees  
_Child of Burning Time_, by Slipknot.


	9. Of dinners and deflowering

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade, ok? This fic is nothing more than entertainment.

**Warnings: **For basic warnings see chapter one. Additional warnings for this chapter: Smut! Sensitive readers are advised to skip chapter.

**xXx xXx xXx**

Two hours later, the Bladebreakers came back to the hotel. Kai had managed to keep himself fully awake. After a cold shower and three cups of coffee, he felt rather ok again. They heard the door open, and four pairs of feet trying to sneak in as quietly as possibly. Kai smirked.

"If you're gonna sneak in to a room quietly, it's best to do it without shoes on, you morons," he said and looked up over the back of the chair.

His team froze up and stared at him.

"Kai!" Max blurted out. "You're awake?"

"No, I'm in a coma."

"Aw, back off, Kai!" Tyson retorted. "He was just worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"So, what was it?" Rei asked. "You're not sick or something?"

Kai snorted, and his family smirked.

"I said: I'm fine. I don't have to explain myself to you."

Tyson growled, and Max hurried to put a hand over his mouth to prevent any comments that could piss the blue-haired captain off. The Russians chuckled. The kid brother of 'the Abbey-bunch' really had a way with people. Tala looked at the four frustrated bladers by the beds with an arched brow.

"So, what are you doing back? I thought that kid said he'd have you over 'til tomorrow."

"He did," Kenny said. "But he wanted to take us all out for dinner. And we wanted to check on Kai too."

The phoenix hissed and was just about to make an icy reply when Spencer saved the situation.

"He's fine. And we can take care of our little brother better than you, kids."

"Little brother?" Tyson questioned. "Huh? I didn't think you guys were related."

"Blood doesn't necessarily mean family," Ian said. "There are other things that are more important."

"So," Bryan said. "He's fine, as you can see, if you aint shitting blind. Why are you still here?"

"Oliver wanted us to ask you guys to come too," Max said. "We're going to his new restaurant."

The five Russians looked at each other, and came to an agreement.

"Yeah, ok," Spencer said. "We'll tag along."

They got out of the couch and arm-chairs and stretched themselves. The Bladebreakers noticed with some relief that Kai was back in his usual clothes, with his face paint as perfect as ever. Maybe it was just as Tala had said, a lingering side effect of his migraine. The phoenix's footsteps were as ghostly quiet as they always were, making his 'brother's' and his team's sound like thunder. So to them he seemed to be back in perfect condition again.

xXx xXx xXx

Oliver's new restaurant turned out to be a very modern one, clean and almost minimalistic in style. The walls were white, the furniture was white, the curtains were white. The floor was a jet black color, and a part from that the only color in the whole place were vases with flowers on some of the tables. They were a glowing cerise, and the flowers in them matched perfectly. The French boy came to greet them, in his chef's attire.

"Bonsoir!" he said cheerfully. "Go have a seat, and I'll cook something nice for you."

The two teams looked around them in something similar to awe. None of them had thought that Oliver would ever decorate a place in this sterile way. They made their way to a table, the five Russian teens on one side and the Bladebreakers on the other. People stared at them, and murmured in their native tongue. This caused the Demolition Boyz to slip in to their signature scary looks, and the teens across the table could tell that they were enjoying themselves. But they were left alone until about halfway into their meal. Oliver had cooked a delicious chicken dish, which he refused to tell them the ingredients in, and they ate as though their lives depended on it. Even Kai showed signs of great appetite. And that was saying a lot. The phoenix seldom ate more than one portion, and they weren't that big to begin with. Now, he had eaten three plates, and got on with desert.

Suddenly, a wave of high-pitched cries flushed over them, and they turned to see what the hell was going on. By the doors to the dining area, a pack of teenage girls were standing, pointing at them and crying excited strings of nonsense.

"Aw, _hell_ no!" the Russians exclaimed in unison.

Tyson snorted.

"It's not like it's _you_ guys they want to see," he stated. "You're the bad guys, remember. And we're the heroes that kicks your asses."

"Do you have a death wish, Tyson Granger?" Tala asked in a tone that sent shivers down their spines. The dragon blader went a little pale and shook his head. "Then I'd prefer if you did not insult me, my team or my boyfriend. He's one of us, remember."

"Tala," Kai said calmly. "Don't waste any energy on him. He's just being his usual stupid self."

"What do you mean by stupid, Kai?" Tyson growled. "I'll show you-"

"Tyson," Rei warned. "Don't go there."

"Are they coming closer?" Ian asked Rei, who sat facing the doors. The feline looked over at the pack, and nodded somewhat resigned.

"Goddammit," Bryan sighed.

The girls came up to the table, autograph-books in their hands, and completely ignored the Bladebreakers. They were staring at the five Russian teens, in total – brain dead – admiration. The Demolition Boyz looked back at them, uninterested. One of the girls, a petite blonde took a step forward and looked at Kai – who sat closest to them.

"I can't believe it's you!" she gasped. "You're like the best blader there is! And you're _sooo_ hot!"

The phoenix arched a brow, but other than that, his face revealed no emotion. The girl failed to pick up on the wave of cold that emanated from him. "Can I- can I touch you?" she asked.

"No, you can not," he replied, rather icy. Tyson looked like he was having some sort of attack, and Max and Kenny tried to calm him down. Tyson was a sucker for the fans, and it was his eternal source of frustration that every time Kai was around, they ditched him. The girls looked around at each other, however not at all affected by the phoenix's obvious dislike. A few of them had turned their attention to the rest of his family, and the boys all looked like they would rather be back in the Abbey than faced with these... _things._ And so Kai was left to fend for himself.

"Can I take a picture of you?"

"Can you sign my book?"

"Can I give you a hug?"

"Are you single?"

"Wanna come hang with us?"

The questions came at him like machine-gun fire. He fought back a threatening growl, and tried to ignore them. He couldn't walk away, because they were totally surrounded. And the others would kill him if he left them in this pinch. Suddenly one of the girls were pushed forward and landed on him. He tried to shove her off, but she had put her arms around his neck. He felt something click in his head, a desire for murder making itself known. He was saved by a growl in the chair next to him, and suddenly the girl was forcefully pulled away from him. An ice cold, emotionless voice spoke to them.

"No, we will _not_ sign your books. No, you can _not_ take any pictures of us. No you can _not_ hug us. No, we do _not_ want to 'come hang' with you. And no, _he_ is _not_ single."

Tala, (who else) stood next to his chair, with his arms crossed and his mot dangerous glare directed at the now not so confident girls. Bryan, Ian and Spencer were still struggling to break free from their fans. Ian had the most difficult time, since all of them were bigger than him and held on to him like a stuffed animal, gibbering about how 'adorable' he was. But Tala had noticed that someone was getting too close to his property, and did not tolerate it. So he had gotten up and shaken off the girls that were clinging to him, and jerked the stupid slut away from his phoenix. Kai was _his._ End of story. The girls looked at the frightening Russian wolf, and then at the phoenix on the chair next to him. The latter had an annoyed frown on his face. One of the girls took courage and spoke;

"Not single? I don't believe you. We would have seen it in the magazines if he had a girlfriend."

"Oh, really?" Tala said unhappily, with a look of having been defeated. "Well, you're _right_. He _doesn't_ have a girlfriend."

The triumphant looks on the fan-girls faces were quickly wiped away when Tala continued. "How could a girl ever live up to Tala Ivanov? This phoenix belongs to _me._ So keep away, you stupid banshee bitches."

The girls fell quiet, so did the rest of the Russians, Oliver, and the Bladebreakers. Kai sighed.

"Way to go, Tala," he said, and after a pause he added; "Stop staring at them. You're freaking them out."

"Messing with my property pisses me off, Kai."

"I know, but you'll have a hard time surviving this week if you bite their heads off." Kai looked at the girls, who were all staring at them, horrified and disappointed. "Beat it," he ordered.

The fan-girls did as requested, some of them in tears over the broken dream of being the girlfriend of the legendary blader. Tala watched them go, with some satisfaction, and sat back down next to Kai. He went back to eating his dessert like nothing had happened, though a slight smirk played at the corners of his mouth. The rest of the occupants of the table collected themselves again. Ian looked at the wolf.

"You do know that you just outed yourself – and Kai – as gay, right?"

"Do I look stupid to you, Ian?" was the cool reply. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that. But as I said, I don't like people messing with my property."

"So he's your _property_?" Bryan questioned. "Aint that a bit much? Last time I looked, our kid brother was a _person_."

"Don't bitch with me, Bry," Tala hissed. "You know damn well what I mean!"

"I'd appreciate it if you would _stop_ talking about me like I'm not here!" Kai spat. "No, that outing _wasn't_ one of your greatest ideas ever, Tal. Yeah, I'm yours, but I'm not a _thing_, and so I'm quite capable of defending myself."

The wolf glared at him, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, I'm _sorry_, dearest." he growled. "Should I have that girl come back and keep clinging on you like a fucking band aid? You seemed to be enjoying yourself, so maybe she'll be happy to comply. It can be arranged, you know!"

"Cut it the fuck out, Tala!" Kai growled back. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working."

Tala growled again and directed one of his death glares at his boyfriend. The bluenette returned it, and the others could feel the aggression in the air between them.

"Tala, Kai, stop it," Spencer said at the other end of the table. "Bry, make them snap out of it."

The falcon nodded, got up from his chair and smacked them both on the back of their heads.

"Ouch!" the two boys hissed. "For fucks sake, Bry!"

"You're being ridiculous," the falcon replied calmly. "Now, behave."

Xxx xXx xxX

For the rest of the night Oliver took them around Paris to explore the night-life. Tala made a point of keeping Kai close to him, preferably with an arm around his waist. The phoenix broke loose every now and then, but the wolf was persistent and eventually caught him again. The others didn't seem to notice their little battle, however. They were too occupied with all the amazing things going on around them. But Tala had a plan. He was going to assert his right to ownership over the phoenix's body as well as his heart. Kai was to yield to him, and that was it. The way the bluenette kept escaping him triggered the hunting instincts in him, the part of his soul he shared with the wolf. He felt excited about the mere idea, heat ran through his body, and he was determined to catch his prey. Eventually the group got a bit overstimulated, and Oliver decided that it was time to come up with quieter activities. He took the risk of inviting them to his house, and his latest video-game, that he had gotten just the previous day. They were all thrilled, all but Tala, and Kai. The phoenix wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep, and the wolf had other plans - that he did not intend on telling _them_ about.

"I'm not going," he said, and pointed to Kai. "I've got to have a _word_ with phoenix-boy here."

Kai snorted. The other Russians looked at each other. That tone made it clear that the wolf was still _not_ happy about what had happened during dinner, and that the phoenix would get a scolding of enormous proportions. And they also knew that when he used that tone, he would not listen to any objections. Kai was on his own.

"Ok, Tal," Ian said. "But he's better be in _one_ piece when we get back tomorrow."

"Yeah," Spencer agreed. "I think you're overreacting a bit."

"Butt out!" Tala retorted. "Kai. You, me, hotel, talk, _now_!" With that he grabbed Kai and marched off in the direction of the hotel. The others looked after them.

"Shit, he's in trouble now," Bryan said. "Tala's got to be the most jealous fucker in the world, and Kai managed to set him off."

The other two grunted their agreement.

"We better stay fucking clear of the hotel until at least tomorrow afternoon," Ian said. "Or _we'll_ get dragged in to this shit."

"Why that long?" Max asked.

"'Cause when those two snap at each other, it gets really messy," Bryan said. "They know all the buttons to push, and it can get really shitting violent. And if someone else comes near them before they've calmed the fuck down, and says _anything_, that person is in a shitload of trouble."

"Hence the long time we've gotta keep away from them," Spencer said. "I don't know about you kids, but I don't like to be punched in the face for saying 'hello'."

"Kai's gonna be alright, right?" Rei asked warily. "I mean, Tala is really strong. He could snap his neck like nothing."

Ian laughed.

"Yeah, cyberbrain is strong as fuck, but Kai's the one with the ninja reflexes. Tala's gonna have a hard time catching him."

Spencer smacked him on the head.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"You don't call Tala cyberbrain."

Oliver intervened before a fight could start and got them moving.

Xxx xXx xxX

Tala shoved Kai through the door to the Demolition Boyz's room and slammed it shut behind them. The phoenix almost lost his balance from the forceful push in his back, he stumbled a few steps before regaining his composure.

"_The fuck, Tala_!" he hissed. "_Take it easy, goddammit_!" But then he saw the look on the wolf's face. It was not pissed off like it had been the entire night. Instead there was something feral in his expression, something hungry. He walked up to Kai, and grabbed the front of his tank top.

"_I have no intention whatsoever of taking it easy, my phoenix_," he said with a slightly malicious grin. "_You are going to be __**mine**_."

"_Tala, what are you t_-" Kai started but didn't get to finish because Tala's lips landed on his, rough and possessive. The wolf's hands moved over his body in a way that could not be anything but possessive. He was frightened at first, but the feeling soon faded under the soft palm of his taller lover. These hands would not hurt, he knew that, and so he gave in and focused on the amazing sensations shooting through his body. It felt like he was on fire, and the sensation of Tala's kiss and hands made it hard to concentrate on anything but trying to stay upright. His knees felt weak, and his breathing heavy, but he went with it with every fiber of his being.

Tala felt Kai respond to his actions, and he smiled inside. He fought the desire to just rip his clothes off and take him by force. He kept himself in check as much as he could – hurting Kai was something he would never forgive himself for. With shaking hands he untied and pulled the phoenix-boy's white scarf off and made a trail of kisses down on to his neck, licking and biting the pale skin. Kai groaned, and buried his fingers in Tala's back. He smiled against the phoenix's neck and bit down hard, making said phoenix gasp loudly and whimper his name, almost pleading. His self-restraint failed him for a moment, and he grabbed Kai's black tank top and pulled it off, reveling sight of the well toned chest. He unbuttoned his own jacket, almost tearing it off, and quickly removed the t-shirt he wore under it. He then pulled the blue-haired teen closer to him – so that skin met skin, and kissed him fervently again. With a push he planted Kai on his bed and placed himself on top of him.

Kai's breathing was jagged and his heart was racing in his chest. Tala was once again assaulting his neck, making him moan loudly over and over. He had no idea it could feel like _this!_ His body was aching with need to go further, and the sensation of Tala's erection against his almost drove him out of his mind. He couldn't believe that it was happening. This was a situation he had longed for, but also one he had dreaded. He was so badly damaged from his past that just the _thought_ of any contact of this kind normally made him physically ill. But _now_, now he was helplessly caught in a raging fire, and he wanted more. He wanted to burn! He let his hands claw down Tala's back, and relished in the effect it had on the wolf. Now it was Tala's turn to moan out loud and dig his hands into Kai's shoulders. He had to make the wolf take the decisive step, because he simply didn't dare to. He held his breath as he suddenly felt Tala's hand impatiently work on loosing his belt and get his pants unzipped, the wolf's upper lip drawn back in a rather predator-like look, showing his perfect white teeth. Kai swore to himself he'd never seen anything more sexy in his life.

Tala cursed inside over the difficult belt buckle as well as his shaking hands. Then finally, it was open, and he wasted no time unzipping the big cargo pants and slipping his hand underneath them. The sensation of the velvety skin and hardness of the phoenix-boy's cock made the fire in him roar. The bluenette under him gasped in shock - or was it surprise? - when he let his fingers close around it and move ever so gently. Oh, he knew what he wanted to do now, what he was _going_ to do. With an affectionate (sort of) smile he pulled the pants off and laid back on top of the phoenix. He proceeded to place kisses on that wonderful ivory skin. Starting at the neck, he slowly moved downwards while one of his hands was busy stroking the smooth member, going about it gently as he sensed Kai's nervousness. He reached his destination and carefully let his tongue run along the length of it, making the younger boy whimper his name again. Encouraged by this, he took it in his mouth, and commenced to move his head and let his tongue add to the effect.

Kai felt himself completely paralyzed. He had thought that Tala would keep it at letting his hand satisfy him, but he had taken it much further than that. He had begun to suspect what the wolf was up to when the kisses started to wander down his body, but he was still not prepared at all for the feeling of Tala's mouth around his cock. So this was what it felt like from this end? He felt his body tense up more by the second, and he didn't know how long he would last before he came. Not very, if Tala kept this up.

"_Tala_," he whimpered. That was all he could say, all he could do. He couldn't move a single muscle, and his hands held on to the cover like a life preserver. The wolf seemed more aroused when he heard his name, for he changed rhythm from a teasing one to a determined one, and Kai heard a moan come from deep down his throat. He was covered in sweat, and his heart was racing so fast he thought he was dying. And after a little while he felt the tension reaching it's peak. Oh God, he was coming!

"_Tala! Oh god, oh __**God**_**!**" he cried out as he felt himself come undone, violently and shaking. But Tala didn't pull back as he came. On the contrary, he took him deeper in to his mouth, swallowing every last drop. All his energy was spent, he could do nothing but lay still where he was. He could hardly even open his eyes again, and the beating of his heart was almost painfully heavy. He felt Tala laying down next to him, caressing his cheek and placing a kiss on his forehead.

Tala felt Kai's body tense up until it was like a steel bar, and when he heard his name being whimpered like that, the heat flared through him once again. He moved more determinately and soon he knew that his phoenix had reached his climax, and he felt utter joy when he heard him cry out his name. The salty liquid shot down his throat, and he swallowed it like water. The thought of pulling away didn't even occur to him. With a last kiss on the slick skin he laid back down beside Kai, loving the sight of him.

"_Was that good, angel_?" he asked. A faint smile appeared on the phoenix-boy's lips and he nodded.

"_I just need to... catch my breath_," he said, voice shaky and low. Tala smiled widely.

"_I'm not done with you yet, Kai_," he whispered teasingly. The phoenix opened a crimson eye and looked wondering at him. "_I'm still hornier than I've ever been in my life. You are so goddamned sexy, you know that_?"

Kai gave another faint smile.

"_What do you have in mind_?" he asked. Tala kissed him again, and removed his own pants. He gently turned the phoenix over so that he laid on his side. The phoenix let out a small gasp when he felt Tala's cock against his rear.

"_This is what I have in mind_," he whispered. "_If you'll let me_."

He saw the phoenix bite his lower lip, obviously a little scared of the idea. Tala kissed his head.

"_I'll be careful, I promise_."

Kai gave a little nod of permission. It couldn't be bad if it was Tala doing it, right? Tala kissed him again, before giving Kai his fingers with a soft order to coat them properly, before carefully inserting one into the bluenette's small entrance. He was so horny now that he felt like he was going mad, but he forced himself to be gentle. He did not want to hurt his love just to be satisfied.

Kai whimpered slightly when he felt Tala's fingers preparing him for the thing to come. This wasn't something he was used to. It felt so weird, but... _good_, like Tala actually wanted to make sure it didn't hurt. The redhead kept planting soft kisses on his face and neck, murmuring sweet things in his ear to keep him relaxed. Then he seemed to deem Kai adequately prepared, and pulled the smaller body closer to his. Kai could've cried at how gentle the wolf was being with him. He felt the hard head of the older teen's cock against him, and then a moment of panic seized him before the member nudged its way past the ring muscle and slowly filled him to the core. He gasped in shock of the feeling. It still stung a bit, he had to admit, but it wasn't so bad. He could endure this; this was Tala doing it, and Tala loved him. Then the wolf started to move, slowly and gently, but Kai could feel how he struggled to control himself and not cause any hurt, but as they both got caught in the wave of lust, Tala's movements became more rhythmic and forceful. It felt good, _really_good in fact, and a loud moan escaped him, joining Tala's series of groans and growls, and he slowly began to move too. He felt his cock wake again, and he struggled to breathe properly.

Tala was hit by wave after wave of pleasure. The feeling of Kai's body against him, around him was so wonderful, and he lost all control of himself. He moved them both without pulling out, so that he was now on top, and his movements increased in force. He was doing it! He was actually fucking the brains out of _Kai Hiwatari_, the love of his _life!_ And Kai was enjoying it as much as he was! He felt his body tremble with the tension, and he savoured it to every last bit. It didn't take long before he felt the final wave run through his body. His vision turned to a red haze, sweat covering every inch of him. And he came. Just as hard as his lover, and as he did he could not hold back the cry:

"_Oh god! __**Kai**__!_"

His body was shaking, and the second the climax was over he collapsed down on Kai, hardly even having energy to move to the side to lay next to him. He lay there on his back, panting like he'd just run a marathon, happier and more fulfilled than he'd ever been.

Kai snuggled up next to him and placed a kiss on his dry lips. Tala looked up into his heavenly crimson eyes and smiled.

"_I love you __**so**__ much, Kai_" he whispered. "_You are the most beautiful, sexy, wonderful person I've ever met. And you're __**mine**__ now._"

The phoenix smiled and kissed him again.

"_I love you too, Tala_," he said. "_And the same goes for you_." He put his head in the crook of Tala's neck and breathed in his scent. "_Ok, I'm yours. Forever and beyond_."

Tala put his arms around him, and held him tight.

"_Forever and beyond_," he whispered back before he fell asleep.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Haha, Tala's jealous! And possessive. Kai aint going nowhere^^

And they finally did it! Wonder if Kai will ever get to be on top... Nah, probably not. Tala aint giving that up without a fight.

I hope you paid attention to details in this chapter. You're gonna need 'em later on^^


	10. Of faking and focusing

**Warnings: **For basic warnings, see chapter one please. Additional warnings for this chapter: None.

**xXx xXx xXx**

Kai was the first of them to wake up the next morning. He was laying on his back, and Tala slept with his head on his chest and an arm around his waist. The covers went up only just to their hips, and he felt a bit cold. The memories of the previous night came back to him, and a wide smile broke out on his features. He moved slightly and the more physical parts of the memories made themselves known.

"_Oow_," he whimpered and bit his lip. Ok, so it still hurt. Right. He decided to lie completely still for a while longer, so that he wouldn't wake the wolf up with the curse he fought to hold back. Fucking with Tala was the greatest and most wonderful experience of his life, but it obviously came with a side order of pain. Would he do it again? Hell yes! As soon as his body, and his ass in particular, stopped aching... Oh, hell! How was he supposed to walk properly now?

Tala moved slightly and woke up. He felt soft skin against his cheek, and a steady heartbeat against his ear. He nuzzled closer for a moment before he looked up at the owner of this velvet ivory skin. He pulled himself up on one elbow and smiled.

"_Hey babe_," he whispered. Kai was so beautiful. His dual-blue hair was a mess, his lips dry and he looked exhausted. He looked like a slightly ragged angel. The crimson eyes met his, and they were shining, the corners of his mouth formed a crooked smile.

"_Hey beautiful_," he replied. Tala's smile broadened to a grin and he leaned down to plant a deep kiss on his lips. The phoenix complied, but when Tala's hands started to wander, making him move his body, the stinging pain made itself known again. He whimpered. Tala immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at his lover, a little worried.

"_Something wrong, angel_?" he asked with a small frown. Kai gave a faint smile, and whimpered again when he tried to move a bit closer to the wolf.

"_I'm just... really sore_."

"_Oh_," Tala blushed. "_I'm sorry, Kai. Didn't mean to hurt you_." He bit his lip. "_Guess another go is out of the question then_."

"_Da. At least... right now_." He muttered a curse. "_You better come up with a damn good excuse as to why I'm gonna have trouble walking today, Tala Ivanov_."

"_Why me_?"

"_You were the one who told the other you were going to beat me up, remember? And it was __**you**__ who did this to __**me**__, not the other way around. So, excuses are __**your**__ headache_."

Tala snorted and kissed him to make him shut up. But the phoenix was right. Telling the others what they'd been doing all night didn't seem like a good idea. His calculating mind started to think what injuries he could have caused that affected Kai's ability to walk properly. He had to pick one that would be logical to the situation. But it was hard to concentrate on anything but the soft lips against his.

Xxx xXx xxX

Around two in the afternoon, the Demolition Boyz deemed it safe to head back. They could only hope that the room was still somewhat intact, and that the injuries would be limited to a few cuts and bruises. They knew that it was best to take cover when Tala snapped, but Kai never backed down. They couldn't decide if he was brave or stupid. Rei had been spot on with his question. Tala was several times stronger than any of them, and when he was angry he had a hard time controlling it. But Kai was stronger than his team knew, and he was much faster. There was of course his other talent as well; the phoenix had extensive training in pressure point fighting. He could hit spots that made you pass out; or go numb; or – if he was forced to – die. Adding that to the rest of his training made him a lethal weapon. Just like the rest of them.

They approached their rooms cautiously, listening to see if there was any sign of the fight still going on. But it was quiet.

"Which room do you think they're in?" Ian asked his teammates.

"Ours," Spencer said. "It's only logical. Tala fights on his own ground if he gets the choice."

The serpent nodded, and turned to the Bladebreakers right behind them.

"Prepare to duck for cover. The silence can mean that they're currently strangling each other."

"Spencer," Bryan said. "If they're still at it, you grab Tala, and me and Ian will take care of Kai."

The whale nodded. They took a deep breath, unlocked the door and jumped in. But they stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed that there was no fight going on, and that the furniture was not in pieces. They were however not where they were supposed to, and some things were flipped over or upside down. Kai was sitting in the couch, rubbing his knee and growling. Tala sat on the floor, rubbing his chin, also growling. Their clothes were in disarray, and their hair was completely disheveled. The two boys looked up at the others.

"You're still alive," Spencer established. "Who won?"

"It seems to be a tie break, Spence," Ian said. "Both of them are still conscious."

"The fuckhead dislocated my damned knee!" Kai declared. "I had to pop it back myself!"

"Well, you used your damned pressure points on me, you little motherfucker! And you bitch-slapped me in the face!"

"You had it coming, Tal!"

"Like you didn't!"

"Do you have any fucking idea of how much a dislocated knee hurts, you goddamned bitch?"

"Don't be such a wuss!"

Kai growled and made an attempt to get up, but had to sit back down again. It hurt, but not where the others thought it did. Tala got on his feet and started to move towards him, but was quickly stopped by Spencer.

"Calm down, Tala," he said. "You won, so give the guy a break, will ya."

"Who says he won?" Kai snorted. "I'll get you for this, Tala. Be sure of it." If that was not a threat, the pope was Jewish. The other three Demolition Boyz quickly intervened as the atmosphere became hostile again. Bryan sat down next to Kai, Spencer planted Tala next to the phoenix on the other side and sat down in the chair next to them. Ian sat down in the other one. He waved for the Bladebreakers to come sit down as well. They warily did so.

"Now, sourpuss one and two," Ian said. Tala and Kai hissed. "We're going out to play pool in a few hours. Probably right after dinner. If you behave yourselves, you can come along. If you don't, I'll personally kick both your asses for being a couple of overreacting bitches."

"Fine, whatever," Tala snorted.

"Kai?"

"Hn."

Bryan turned on the tv, and they spent the next three hours watching some strange film about a woman who had lost her husband and got his heroin-addicted best friend to move in. They all found it rather confusing. When the credits started to roll, most of them scratched their heads.

"Did any of you get it at all?" Ian asked.

"Nope," Tyson said.

"I think," Max said. "That she wanted to... eh, I don't know."

"Ah, forget it," Tala snorted. "Let's go down and eat. I'm hungry."

They all nodded and got on their feet. The Demolition Boyz looked with concern at how hard it was for the phoenix-boy to get on his feet and move. He winced and bit back a low curse as he limped towards the door. Bryan and Spencer made an attempt to help him but he brushed them off and continued to stagger down the hall, cursing with every step. Spencer hit Tala on the back of his head as they followed the stoic phoenix.

"Ow!" he hissed. "The fuck, Spence?"

"Go help him," the whale commanded. "You caused that limp, you help make it better."

The wolf snorted, but did as he was told. He quickened his steps and caught up with Kai, a few steps ahead. He put an arm around his waist, and ignored the threatening growl that came from the bluenette. It was just for show, he knew that, and on the inside he laughed. None of the others had caught on at all! God, he and Kai could win a fucking Oscar at this rate. But it did concern him a bit that Kai was obviously still sore. He had never meant to hurt, but maybe it would get better with time. Maybe he would learn some self-control (not likely), and maybe Kai's body could get used to it – he really didn't know how all that worked. But he knew one thing; He was going to do it again, first chance he got!

"_You ok_?" he whispered, so low that only Kai could hear him.

"_Yeah, it's not as bad as this morning. But it still stings a bit_."

"_Sorry, angel_."

"_Stop apologizing. Did I seem like I didn't like it_?"

Tala hid a smirk as the others caught up. He planted his sour look on his face, and he knew that the shorter boy next to him did the same. He was having fun with this!

They sat down by their usual table, Kai sat down slowly and made it look like he was careful about his knee. He was quite surprised that no one had figured things out. Finally he was seated and let out a breath as the quick flash of pain died away. Hunger clawed his inside, but thankfully his stomach kept quiet. Neither he nor Tala had eaten anything since the previous dinner. The rest of the morning after they'd woke up was spent snuggling, and they had only just staged the whole scene when the others came through the door. Oh, if they only knew how they and their clothes had gotten like that! He knew his team wouldn't catch on unless they more or less repeated the night in front of them, but he _had_ thought that his older brothers would see through the whole charade. After they finished their meal, Bryan looked at him and Tala.

"Ok," he said. "You're behaving. But I'd like to hear an apology here. Tala for being a jealous fuck who gave Kai a limp. And Kai for setting Tala off and use the foul trick of pressure points."

Tala snorted, but then a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Sorry, darling," he said. "It's not your fault you're the definition of sexy."

"Tell that to my knee," the phoenix retorted. "But fine. Sorry about using that trick."

"Not for making me jealous?"

"_Nyet_. One, because I didn't do anything. Two, because I think you are cute when you're seething."

"Cute?" Tala cried. "I'm _cute_? Ok, now I'm insulted! Handsome, I can take. Sexy is better. I could settle for gorgeous. But cute? _Puppies_ are cute."

"_Da_. Exactly. Cute."

The wolf looked utterly defeated and hid his face in his palms.

xXx xXx xXx

"Aw, come on, Tal!" Bryan protested. "There's no fucking way you just won _again!"_

Tala arched a brow and straightened up, cue in his hand and a mischievous smile on his lips.

"You lost this round because you can't keep focused, Bry-boy," he stated. "But I, on the other hand, am quite capable of doing so."

"So what you're saying is that nothing can break your concentration?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"Then I demand a re-match. I'll show you just how focused I can be."

"It won't matter, Bry. I'll still win. _Nothing_ can make me lose my focus."

The other two Demolition Boyz, at the table next to them, sighed. Kai looked up from his game and an evil smirk appeared on his face. He winked at Bryan behind Tala's back. The falcon seemed to understand, and started to prepare for the match. Kai went on with his match, and smirked when he sank the eight-ball and thereby beating Tyson. The dragon had bragged on about being unbeatable at this game. But he had obviously never played against Kai. The phoenix went to stand next to Bryan and Tala's table, and seemed to be just watching their game. When Tala made an aim for a ridiculously easy shot, he set his evil plan in to action. Just as Tala was going to hit the cue ball, he leaned in and whispered in the redhead's ear:

"_How about us sneaking back to the hotel again and fuck_?" He licked the wolf's earlobe and then pulled away.

Tala missed the shot completely, sending the cue ball flying off the table, and nearly nailing Spencer in the guts. He blushed a fiery red and looked at the phoenix with eyes as big as dinner-plates. Said phoenix looked innocently back at him and smiled his most angelic smile.

"_Kai!_" he blurted out. "_The hell?_"

"_I believe you just lost your focus, darling_," Kai said, and gave Bryan a high five. The falcon grinned triumphantly.

"My turn," he said. "And would you _look_ at that! Only two balls left. And Tala has one, two, _three_ balls left."

The wolf growled as the lilac-haired blader pocketed one of his two remaining balls in one elegant push. As he got ready to make another hit, he sent a menacing glare at his smirking phoenix. Kai held up his hands and backed away a few steps. Spencer and Ian came to stand next to him.

"Just what did you say to him?" Ian asked.

"Something naughty," Kai chuckled. "But that's what you get for being full of yourself."

Spencer laughed and ruffled his hair in a big-brotherly manner.

They left the pool hall a few hours later, the over all winners being Kai, Tala, and surprisingly enough, Rei. The feline had turned out to be a natural at the sport, and the others had made mental notes to never underestimate the combination of Rei Kon and a cue. Kai still limped a bit, even though it was mostly for show. A knee being dislocated and popped back into place was known to hurt for a while. Tala put an arm around his waist once again and they started to walk back to the hotel. As they passed a small square, a group of teenage boys and girls were staring at them and pointing.

"See! I told you they were queer!" a light girl's voice said in French from only a few feet away.

"No way!" a boy protested next to her.

"Then why are they clinging on each other like that?"

"It's what you call a dislocated knee," Tala said to them, coldly. "I have it from a reliable source that it hurts like a bitch, but I'd be happy to get _your_ opinion on it."

The small group of fans backed away from the menacing figure of Europe's most scary blader.

"So, you're not gay?" a girl dared to ask.

"Why is that of _any_ importance to _you_?" Kai snorted.

"What if we are?" Tala said. "What're you going to do abut it? Spread the word all over the world? Write hate mails? Call us fruit cakes and laugh? Let me then give you a little... warning. If you do any of those things, I'll hunt you down and shut you up for good."

They backed away a few more steps, and looked anxiously at each other. Then several of the girls smiled.

"You guys are sooo cool!"

"Huh?" both Kai and Tala said, totally unprepared for such comment. The two teams looked at the scene with some confusion. Since the discussion was held in French, none of them really got what they were saying. But they had heard the threatening tone from Tala, and was every bit as shocked as him about the excited response.

"You're like the _perfect_ match!" another girl said. "And you're both like, the best and the most gorgeous bladers in the whole world!"

"Yeah!" a boy agreed. "You guys are my idols! Can I please have your autographs?"

Now it was Tala and Kai who started to back away. They seemed somewhat perplexed.

"No, you can't," Kai said. "We've got to go now. My knee is killing me."

The fans seemed disappointed, but didn't follow them as they quickly walked away from the square. The two teams they lead followed close behind them, and after a few blocks, Max's curiosity got the better of him.

"What was that all about?"

"They needed confirmation on Tala's little outburst last night," Kai replied with some annoyance. "We've been officially outed."

"They seemed rather excited about it," Spencer commented.

"I'll never understand those creatures!" Tala exclaimed. "First they act like they're gonna stone us, and then they make a one eighty turn and get all mushy about it. They've seriously got some fucking issues!"

"I think _all_ fangirls' got issues," Ian said. "How else can they let their whole pathetic lives revolve around guys spinning little blades around in an oversized cereal-bowl?"

Xxx xXx xxX

"_Kai, angel_," Tala whispered somewhat deviously in his ear later that night, when they lay under the covers in Kai's bed. "_You do know that I'll make you pay for making me lose my focus, right_?"

"_Oh_, _I'm __**really**__ scared, Tal_," he replied. "_What are you going to do? Kiss me to death?_"

"_First chance I get_, _I'll make your lips bleed, my little phoenix, and then I'll make sure you can't walk - let alone sit - in a __**week**_." He let his hand slide over Kai's body as to back up his statement, letting his nails scrape the skin. Kai bit his lower lip, to stop himself from giving out a loud whimper. The wolf saw it in the pale moonlight coming from the window. The others were deep asleep, and so he felt it to be a good opportunity to tease a little. But he himself was a bit... aroused, and _really_ wanted to repeat the previous night. However, that was impossible, with the four members of the Bladebreakers in the beds next to them, and the Demolition Boyz in the next room. He laid down on his back, and gave out a snort, that he hoped sounded a bit offended.

"_Fine! Be that way, then_!" he said when Kai didn't reply. But the phoenix turned around and laid half on top of Tala, mimicking his movement with a sly grin. Tala breathed in a sharp gasp.

"_Not if I get you first, my darling wolf_," he whispered in a rather husky voice. He let his fingers tease Tala's most intimate parts, and they were painfully responding. The wolf held his breath as the phoenix leaned over him, tilted his head to the side and bit him in the neck. Tala bit back a moan.

"_Kai? What are you doing? Your team is sleeping in here too_!" he whispered. The phoenix chuckled.

"_I'm making a point, Tala_," he whispered back. "_You're not the only one wanting to make __**that**__ happen, you know. But next time, I won't play the kitten_."

"_Kai_."

"_What_?"

"_Shut up and kiss me to sleep before I lose my head and fuck your brains out right here and now_!"

The phoenix gave another sly grin, and did as requested.

((_ God! That promise made me so fucking horny! Damned Kai. How the hell am I supposed to keep myself under control now that I know __**he's**__ waiting for the same opportunity, and might just be the one who fucks __**me**__ next time! God, if the other morons weren't in this room right now!_))

And he had a had time keeping his focus on anything at the moment. It was quite exciting to trigger Kai's dominate side. He knew that he would have to fight to stay 'on top' so to say, but that could prove rather enjoyable if he played his cards right. Kai was honest with him, he wouldn't be submissive _all_ the time, and he would probably not give any warning when he wanted to make Tala submit to him. This was like a dream. Not only was he burning inside with love for this blue-haired boy, but the desire was almost overwhelming as well. How could Kai affect him so? He had never felt so complete in his life as he did with the phoenix, not ever so at home or so strong.

((_Forever and beyond, Kai. That's how much and how long I'll love you_.))

**Xxx xXx xxX**

So, the stay in Paris is soon over, and then there will be a change of location. And then, dear readers, this story will, as I promised, turn from dark to pitch black. Stay tuned!


	11. Of caring and Cosa Nostra

**Warnings: **For basic warnings, see chapter one please. Additionalwarning for this chapter: contains **violence** and **death.** Sensitive readers are recommended to skip this chapter.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Next day, the rain once again poured down over Paris. Oliver called to inform them that he unfortunately had to go to Marseille for business, and was unable to entertain them. The teams made the collective decision to chill out the whole day. So, after breakfast they headed back to their rooms to devote themselves to the demanding activity of 'doing nothing'. Tyson and Max quickly returned to their beds and were fast asleep within ten minutes. Rei laid down and continued reading the book he had started on during the flight, but not gotten very far with since they'd been rather busy the last few days. Kenny meant to work on their blade data on Dizzi, but it wasn't long before he too had fallen asleep, his head on the keyboard.

Kai, who had been meaning to shock them a bit by actually acting social, sighed and went in to his brothers' room. He was so tired, he could hardly keep his eyes open. He had another nightmare during the night, and hadn't dared to go back to sleep again, despite Tala's attempts to persuade him. The taller red-haired boy had tried nearly everything, including almost fucking Kai through the mattress, but he had still refused. Eventually Tala had fallen asleep again, and Kai sneaked out of the bed, and sat down on the window seat as usual. Tala had been somewhat... _grouchy,_ when he woke up and found his phoenix-boy by the window – again. Then he'd gone all protective, and Kai had finally snapped at him for being a mother hen. And since Tala hadn't gotten his minimum of nine hours of sleep, he got cranky. Kai ended up shoving him back to the Demolition Boyz's room and told him to stay there until he snapped out of it.

But now he really wanted to nestle in the wolf's arms and sleep for a few hours. It was a good plan, he thought, since they weren't doing anything that day anyway. He closed the door behind him and looked at his family. Spencer lay on the couch, with a book. That was a bit of a surprise, since the whale always complained about books giving him headaches. Bryan had turned the tv on, and zapped between the channels to find anything worth watching. Ian was sleeping, of course. He was sprawled out on his stomach sideways across his bed, snoring loudly. Tala just showed up from the bathroom, dressed in nothing but a towel, and was was currently brushing his fiery hair. When he caught sight of Kai, he snorted and pouted. The phoenix ignored him, untied his scarf, kicked off his shoes and lay down on Tala's bed, before pulling a blanket over him and closing his eyes.

((_**So**__ tired! Come on, Kai. A few hours. You can do it! The others __**will**__ wake you up if you have a nightmare again, you know that. Come on, body, __**sleep**_. _Please_!))

"_Looks like little brother is tired_," Bryan said. "_Did he have another nightmare? Or did you do something naughty to him, Tala_?"

"_In a room full of Bladebreakers_?" the redhead snorted while he got in his sweatpants and a t-shirt. "_Don't be stupid, Bry_. _He had another nightmare. A really bad one, and he refused to go back to sleep again_."

"_Oh. Well, we all know that when Kai decides to be stubborn, you might have better luck arguing with a brick wall_."

"_Da, I know. Why do you think I got so damned frustrated? He was hardly conscious during breakfast, and now look at him. He knows he'll be a shitting wreck if he doesn't sleep. But did that help? __**No**__. Not a fucking __**bit**_."

"_It's not like I'm going to get any sleep, as long as you two are yapping_," Kai said from under the blanket. The falcon and the wolf looked at each other; they'd thought that the youngest brother _was_ asleep. "_Tala, come and lie down_."

"_Uh-uh_," Tala retorted. "_**Someone**__ insulted me, by calling me 'an overprotective, carrot-topped bitch of a mother hen'_."

"_You __**are**__ overprotective. Come lie down_."

"_Not a chance in hell. You're by yourself, my little phoenix. Maybe I'll just bunk with Bry for the rest of the trip_."

"_Hey_!" the falcon protested. "_Don't drag __**me**__ in to this_!"

Kai sat up and directed one of his most intimidating glares at the wolf.

"_Tala Samael Ivanov! Stop being such a bitch, and come lie down - right this minute!_"

The red-haired teen's mouth dropped and he stared at his boyfriend. He had almost forgot that Kai could be really freaking _scary_when he wanted to. Even Bryan and Spencer seemed a little uneasy.

"_Better do as he asks, Tal_," Spencer said and went back to his book. "_I think little brother is a bit cranky_."

Tala looked at said little brother. He had pulled the blanket over his head again, and only a tuft of his slate blue hair was visible. Tala couldn't help but smile. He walked over to his bed, and crept beneath the blanket too. Kai immediately snuggled up to his chest and held on to his t-shirt.

"_So, why do I have to lie here_?" he whispered gently.

"_I sleep better next to you_."

"_You don't sleep at __**all**__, Kai_."

"_Yes, I do. I've slept a lot this week_."

Tala sighed and held him tight.

"_**This**__ week, sure. But before that? How many hours a night did you sleep? Or hours a __**week**__ even?_"

"..."

"_Kai, you can't keep doing this to yourself_."

Something resembling a sob came from the phoenix hiding his head against his chest.

"_I know_," he said, barely audibly.

Tala stroked his midnight-blue hair.

"_What did you dream_?"

"_About Anastasia_." The phoenix drew a shaky breath. "_I __**miss**__ her, Tal. I know people don't think I do. And they don't even think that I remember her. But I do. Every day_."

"_I know you do. And it's ok, Kai. You loved her, and __**no one**__ can take that away from you_."

"_It's my fault she's dead, Tal_."

"_No, it's not. And you know that, too. You know who's fault it __**really**__ is_."

"_Some day, I'll kill him. He took my very sunlight away, and I'll rip out his heart for it_."

"_You'll only ruin it for yourself. There are other ways_."

"_I'd give up anything to see her again. __**Anything**_."

"_I know, angel. I know_." He felt something wet his t-shirt, and he realised Kai was crying. He did not make a sound, nor was it detectable in his voice, but he was crying.

((_The only person Kai has ever loved more than __**me**__, was Anastasia. And she was taken away from him in the worst possible way. __**I **__will kill the man responsible for this. Kai's got enough blood on his hands as it is. God, if we could only tell someone about all this! But we'll all be in a __**shitload**__ of trouble if we do. Fuck this shit!_))

The phoenix said no more, and soon he fell asleep in Tala's arms. The wolf held him close and drifted off as well. Bryan and Spencer, who had overheard their conversation, looked at each other.

"_Our little brother is falling apart_," Bryan said. "_I don't know 'bout you, Spence, but I'm fucking worried_."

"_We all are, Bry_," the oldest teen answered. "_I just hope he keeps together until we get back home with him. And then I'll fucking force him to see a shrink, as much as he'll hate it_."

"_I'll give you a hand. And I think that Tala definitely will too. Ian will kick him in the head if that's what it takes_."

"_Thank God he trusts Tala the way he does. I mean, I know he trusts all of us with his __**life**__, but he and Tala always had the strongest connection_."

The falcon nodded.

Xxx xXx xxX

They didn't leave their rooms until dinner. All of them quite tired, despite the lack of activity, but hungry as starved dogs, all of them. It was still pouring outside, and judging by the look of the people passing by outside it was really cold as well. They were served a fantastic soup, with all kinds of seafood in it, and a spicing that was quite intriguing. It was a new dish that the chef wanted monsieur Hiwatari to try out before adding it to the menu. They had to force Tyson to stop eating when he got to his fourth plate. The other human pig in the group, Ian, didn't like seafood, so he had gotten something else. Some kind of beef dish that he found 'strange but tasty'. Just when they'd started desert, Kai's cellphone rang. The phoenix rolled his eyes and picked it up from his pocket. The caller ID said 'Moscow head office Feodor'. He sighed and answered.

"_Da? I'm in Paris at the moment, what do you want? Say__** what**__?_"He hissed, and his friends looked curiously at him. He waved at them to mind their own business. "_Palermo? What's going on here Feodor? I thought I said not to do business with those people_. _Yes, I am __**highly**__ disappointed in you. But as I said, I'm in Paris. What do you want me to do about it? Don't get smart with me Feodor. I am fully aware that I own this business, but I had actually thought that my employees could handle the responsibilities I gave them. What do you mean exactly when you say 'out of hand'? Are there injured people? Well, I guess I have no choice then. When's the next flight? Two hours? Alright, I'll be there in – what - four hours? Keep them __**alive **__until I get there, ok?_"

He let out a growl when he'd hung up. His family looked at him, a bit pale, and the Bladebreakers looked a bit suspicious. Bryan looked inquiring at him.

"What the hell was that all about? Palermo, isn't that in Italy somewhere?"

"Hn. Sicily."

"And what is it that has gotten out of hand?" Ian asked.

"One of my executives overstepped his authority. He got a proposal from a family business, a family called Sapienza. However, he failed to do to the mandatory background check. And it turned out to be seriously bad news."

Tala's eyes had narrowed as he came to realisation.

"Mafia?" he asked. Kai nodded.

"Some of my people, temporarily based in Palermo, tried to withdraw from the agreement this executive had made. And things has turned ugly. Two men are dead, and the other three are held hostage. They want to talk to me."

"Why you?" Tyson asked. Kai looked at him.

"Because I own this corporation. It is my _duty_ to get my people out of there."

"You're gonna be ok, right?" Spencer asked. Kai nodded.

"I'm not afraid of them. And besides the fact that I'm taking Dranzer with me, Feodor is also bringing my old silvery bird-friend with him. It'll be ok."

The Demolition Boyz were noticeably calmed by this. The Bladebreakers however, were confused. What silvery bird-friend? What was going on? Black Dranzer? No, he was just that; black.

"I have to go," Kai said and got up from his chair. "The plane leaves in two hours. After I land I've only got two more hours before things will get ugly."

He walked out of the dining hall, and left the rest of the group behind.

When he was getting ready to leave the room and head to the airport, Tala came up behind him and pulled him close. He kissed the midnight-blue hair and stood there for a while, quiet.

"_Are you sure you'll be ok?_" he asked. "_Cosa Nostra is serious shit. It's been a while since you did something like this_."

"_I'm going to be fine, Tal_," Kai reassured him as he turned around and kissed the wolf gently. "_I've kept my training up to date ever since I left. Old habits die hard, I guess_."

"_I didn't know you still had it._"

"_Well, it's not __**that**__ one. But it's identical to it. If they think I'm just a random, bratty sixteen-year-old, that they can threaten and mess with, they are wrong_."

"_Will you cross the line for this?_"

"_If I have to. I'm not thrilled about that, but I'll do what I always do. Which is to do __**whatever**__ it takes_."

Tala sighed and nodded.

"_You've changed in so many ways, Kai_," he said. "_But you are still so much who you were back then_." He gave a resigned chuckle. "_Guess there's no point in us asking to tag along for support, then?_"

"_Nyet. You guys gotta stay out of the spotlights and out of trouble. I didn't get you out so that Boris can catch you again, because of something like this. It'll be the end of you_."

"_Just promise me you'll came back. I don't know what I'd do without you_."

"_People like them cannot beat someone like me. Someone like __**us**__. I will come back, Tala. I promise_."

He kissed the wolf once again, deep and passionate, savouring every last bit of the redhead's taste and warmth.

Before they reached the doors of the dining hall, where the rest of the group were still sitting, Tala asked:

"_Your team is dying to know about your 'bird-friend'. Can we tell them, or should we come up with some bullshit excuse?_"

The phoenix thought about it for a moment. Then he shrugged.

"_They'll pester you 'til you tell them anyway. Or me, when I get back. There's no point in hiding it from them. As long as you don't give them the whole story. Just say it was something we picked up in there._"

Tala nodded, and kissed him again before heading back to the table. Kai walked by the reception and left a message for monsieur Clarý that he'd be gone for about two days in business, but that his friends were staying there while he was away.

Xxx xXx xxX

The Demolition Boyz kept their mouths shut about the whole thing until they were certain that Kai was no longer on French soil. They were however losing their patience fast; Tyson's nagging was almost unbearable, and when Max joined in – high on sugar and practically bouncing around – it became difficult to keep their hands away from their throats.

"Alright!" Tala shouted after about three hours of that torture. "Shut the fuck up, sit the hell down, and we'll tell you."

They sat down in the couch in the Bladebreakers room. The team itself sat down around them, eager to hear about this secret.

"So," Tyson inquired. "What is Kai's 'silvery bird-friend'?"

"Kai received the same training as all of us," Ian said. "He's got a lot of fucking talents, I tell ya."

"And what does that mean?" Rei asked. He had started to get suspicious about the whole thing. "I doubt that it's another bitbeast, even though that's what it sounded like."

"You're right," Tala said. "It's not a bitbeast. It's got nothing to do with beyblading."

"The what the heck _is_ it?" Tyson cried. "I'm keeling _over_!"

"Kai's silvery bird-friend," Spencer said calmly. "Is his Desert Eagle."

"Desert Eagle?" Max shouted. "You _serious_?"

The Demolition Boyz nodded. Rei, Kenny and Tyson looked a bit confused.

"What's a desert eagle?" the dragon asked.

"It's a big fucking gun," Bryan said. "And Kai can nail a fly at a fifty feet distance with it."

The Bladebreakers' mouths dropped.

"Kai's got a... gun?"

Xxx xXx xxX

In Palermo, Kai's car stopped in front of a warehouse, and sighed inwardly when he saw it. It was just _such_ a cliché. The big bad mobsters hiding with their hostages in a freaking warehouse. If the situation wasn't so grave, he would have laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was. He got out, and put his gun in the back of his waistband. No point in showing it to them if he didn't have to. Then he walked up to the door, and knocked twice.

"Who's there?" a voice said from the other side.

"I am Kai Hiwatari, and I believe you wanted to see me."

The door opened and a man gestured for him to get inside quickly. It was rather dark in there, the only light came from a few fluorescent lights at the far end of the large room. They showed his three staff-members lying on the floor, badly bruised, and with their hands bound. They had a guard each, armed with menacing knives, but as far as he could see, there were no firearms. He didn't count on it, though. Taking a slow breath, he walked closer to them with confident strides. About twenty feet away, he stopped.

"I'm here," he said. "Let's settle this."

The man who seemed to be the leader, a tall copper-haired man, looked at him sceptically.

"You're Kai Hiwatari?" he said. "No way. Get lost kid, and send your Daddy in."

Kai snorted, pulled his id-card out of his pocket and threw it over to the man. The man looked at it, with eyes big as saucers, and then back at Kai.

"Ok, so you're him, the freaky beyblade kid. But you're still just a brat. We aint scared of you."

"I couldn't care less," Kai said coldly. "Now, you will agree to withdraw from the agreement you made with one of my former employees. I did not give my consent to it, and I do not hold it as valid. Release them, and back out of this."

The men looked at each other and started laughing. The leader pulled one of the hostages, a brown-haired woman who was one of his most loyal employees, to her feet and held his knife to her throat.

"You don't scare us, little brat," he said. "What're you gonna do now? Blade us away? I'll slit her throat if you try to pull anyt-"

He stopped talking when Kai suddenly pointed the gun at him. He held it in only one hand, eyes cold and face determined. The man stared at it for a moment before he chuckled again.

"Oh, so the brat's got a gun, huh? Sorry, kid, but you know as well as we do that you can't handle that thing."

He pressed the knife tighter to the woman's throat, a small dribble of blood started to run down her neck. Kai snorted, and cocked. He looked the man right in the eyes, and his crimson gaze scared them all. It was cold, emotionless.

"You have made a few mistakes so far, Mr. Sapienza," he said. "One; you put a knife to her throat instead of a gun to her head. Two; you thought that I'm just another spoiled brat. Three; you don't think that I can handle this gun. And the final mistake; you pissed me off." He looked at them, upper lip drawn back in a threatening manner, showing his sharp white teeth. "Let them go, or this bullet will go through your forehead."

"You won't shoot, kid," the man answered, more confident than he felt. "You don't _know_ how to kill."

He moved the knife to cut the woman's throat open, and that proved to be a fatal mistake. A loud bang echoed through the room. The remaining men gasped when the body of their leader fell to the floor. Then they looked up at the young kid holding the gun. It was now pointed at them, and the red eyes were burning.

"Let them go," he repeated. "The deal is off, and you are never going to make any contact or business with the Hiwatari Corps again. Got that?"

They nodded frantically and fled the warehouse. The phoenix put the gun back in his waistband, and walked over to his employees. The woman was crying hysterically, and the two men were wicked pale. He quickly untied them and helped them to their feet.

"_Are you ok?_" he asked. The two men nodded.

"_He – he was going to- he tried to cut..._"

The woman started to cry again. Her two colleagues took care of her, and gently got her out of the warehouse. Kai remained behind. He sighed as he looked at the dead man on the floor.

((_I am still what I've always been, it seems. I'm still the monster. I have once again crossed the line_.))

Tears started to run down his cheeks, and he fell to his knees. For a long while he just sat there, crying. He was mourning for the man he'd killed, and for bringing out a side of him he thought he'd _never_ have to see again. He knew that someone would probably die when he walked in there, but it still did not in any way feel good. A life, even if it's a rotten and evil one, is still a life. The most sacred and precious thing on the planet. He felt like he was going to be sick, but he managed to control the need to throw up. Shaking, he got to his feet and stumbled out into the cool night air. He took deep breaths, and tried to make the self despise go away. Feodor waited for him by the car, parked about sixty feet away by another warehouse. Without a word, he handed the gun to him and got in the car. Feodor put it in a box and hid it under the seat. As the car started moving, he turned to his young boss and took a good look at him. He was ghostly pale, and his face had a hard-set expression. He was in many ways a very scary young man, but he was always there for his employees and carried out his duties no matter what. It was just a shame that he had to take a life in there. Feodor knew that Kai could handle firearms, but if the teen had ever killed someone before was a mystery, another part of his past that no one knew anything about.

"_They've been taken to a doctor for the necessary treatments of their injuries_," he said. Kai nodded. "_What do you want to do next, sir?_"

"_Get them back to Moscow as soon as possible. Put them on sick leave for the next two months, and then let them come back to work if they feel they can handle it. If not, then add a month at a time. Make sure they get to see a psychologist, and that their treatments are payed for_. _These things can haunt you for years, so it's important that they get cared for before it's too late_."

"_You seem to know a lot about these things, sir. If you forgive me for saying such a thing_."

"_Well, I know someone who's struggling with the results of these kinds of traumas. It's not pretty._"

"_And our dead?_"

Kai was quiet for a moment.

"_Get them back to their families, and make sure that they get proper funerals. They will blame me for this, so tell them that I will do what I can to help. If they want money, give it to them. It seems inappropriate to give them money right away. It feels so rude. And make sure you tell them who it was that got this whole fucking mess started_."

"_Da. I will arrange things immediately_."

"_And get hold of the next plane out of here. I have friends waiting for me in Paris_."

"_Da. And if someone starts asking questions?_"

"_This is Sicily. That was Cosa Nostra. No one will ask any questions. But if it makes you feel better, you can make up a proper story_."

He checked in to the hotel Feodor had arranged for him, and immediately hit the shower. He scrubbed every inch of his skin, until he almost scrubbed it off. Even though he'd been standing twenty feet away, he felt covered in blood. And the warm water covered up the desperate tears that flooded down his cheeks, as well as the sound of his heavy sobs. The sound of the gunshot echoed through his mind, mingled with the sound of another gunshot. One that had laid his entire life in ruins, and cost him the one person he loved with his entire soul. He felt his body tense up, and everything went black.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Um, ok... It got a bit angsty again. But, I like to write angst – and it's not like I didn't warn you.

About the Cosa Nostra; I just couldn't help it! I plead temporary insanity! My muse got this crazy idea that it would be fun to do Hiwatari Corp, lead by sort of evil Russian Kai + Cosa Nostra, the baddest mafia in the world. If you didn't like it, please don't bite my head off, ok? Just ignore it, forget it, and go on with your reading.


	12. Of switch-blades and saunas

**Warnings: **For basic warnings, see chapter one please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**Xxx xXx xxX**

Tala woke up on the second day after Kai had left, and found that he wasn't alone in his bed. Next to him, with his head on his chest and an arm around his waist, was Kai. Tala had to blink a few times before he got it through his head that the phoenix had – once again – managed to use his sneaky ninja skills on him. Only this time to sneak _into_ his bed, instead of _out_of it.

"_Kai?_" he whispered, and looked over at the alarm clock. It was six forty-seven a. m.. The phoenix moved slightly.

"_I did it again, Tal_," he whispered back, anguish in his voice. "_I crossed the line_."

Tala sat up and pulled him with him. He gently caressed the unpainted cheeks, and looked into the sad crimson eyes.

"_My angel_," he whispered. "_Will you be ok?_"

"_I don't know. Maybe. I would have come back yesterday, but I didn't feel too good_."

"_How long have you been back?_"

"_A few hours._"

"_My angel_," Tala sighed and kissed him gently on his forehead. "_Why didn't you wake me?_"

"_I didn't want you to miss out on sleep, just because I'm a wreck_."

"_Oh, for the love of_-_ Kai! Stop being so damn considerate. If you are feeling bad, wake me up - and I'll help make it better. That's what we do, remember? That's what we've always done._"

"_Prosty menya, Tal_," he whispered, with a hint of a smile. He leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "_Now, help make it better_." [1]

Tala needed no further encouragement. It seemed to make the phoenix relax, and that was obviously what he needed now.

The others woke up about three hours later, and found Tala and Kai on the couch. The wolf was leaned back against the armrest, and held the phoenix in his arms. The latter rested his head against his chest and was reading a book. He looked calm, and that was a good sign. They both turned their heads when the others started to get up.

"_Oi, little brother's back!_" Ian exclaimed. "_How did it go?_"

"_Fine_," Kai said as he went back to his reading.

"_Any casualties?_" Spencer asked.

"_One_."

"_How many shots were fired?_"

"_One_."

"_By who?_"

"_Me._" The phoenix made a face. "_I don't wanna talk about it, ok? I just wanna forget it_."

Ian was going to say something, but Tala looked sharply at him and shook his head. The serpent nodded. Instead the Demolition Boyz concentrated on getting dressed, and get to the bathroom first. Spencer came out the winner in that contest. He just elbowed Bryan and swept away Ian's legs. They both hammered their fists against the door, but it was, of course, futile. Spencer was not one to get stressed in the bathroom, and they could only hope he'd get out of there fast. But, knowing their big brother, they knew that he might just stay in there for a while simply because he knew it pissed them off.

Xxx xXx xxX

The Bladebreakers woke up around ten am and headed down for breakfast immediately. Tyson claimed to be hungry enough to turn cannibal on them if he wasn't fed soon. They took his warning seriously and agreed to go down for breakfast. As they sat down around the table, they were a bit concerned about the fact that the Demolition Boyz had not shown up yet. And Kai was still in Sicily, as far as they knew. It did not feel good.

"When the hell is Kai coming back?" Tyson asked. "He's been gone for almost two days."

"Yeah," Rei said. "I'm actually getting worried here. I mean, the fact that he had to bring a gun with him makes the whole thing much scarier."

"And who would have guessed that Kai could handle a gun?" Max said. "Let alone a Desert Eagle. They're really _big._ The army uses them, you know."

"We shouldn't have been surprised," Tyson snorted. "Of course he just _says_ he can handle a gun. It just adds to his 'I'm-so-cool-and-mysterious'-attitude."

"Oh, really?" they heard a voice behind them. They turned around, and found the phoenix approaching the table, along with his family. He looked as he always looked. A bit distant and a little bored. "Perhaps I should give you a little demonstration."

"Kai!" they exclaimed. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," the bluenette answered as he sat down. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You went to Sicily with a _gun_," Tyson said. "To bitch with mobsters. That's what you would call 'dangerous'."

Kai snorted.

"Only if you're scared."

They stared at him as the waiter handed him a cup of steaming hot coffee. The other four Russians started their breakfasts as well, looking almost like Kai hadn't even been gone. They were discussing how to spend the day. Ian wanted to go to the water park again. Bryan suggested another paint ball game, Spencer said he would go along with whatever they decided. Tala was more interested in staying there and watch movies. It was still raining, and he hated the rain with every inch of his being. Kai agreed to anything but paint ball. He did not want to have _anything_ to do with shooting for a while, even if it was just balls full of paint. So, Ian, Bryan and Tala started arguing about what to do. Bryan got voted out: no one wanted to play paint ball in the rain, so the falcon took Ian's side. Spencer tried to mediate and turn their volume down before they scared the other guests. Kai was busy with his third cup of coffee, and merely threw a glance at them every now and then. He didn't bother to get involved. In the end, the Bladebreakers were called in to settle the dispute. But that didn't really make things any easier. Tyson and Max sided with Ian and Bryan. Rei and Kenny sided with Tala. Kai still refused to get involved, so Spencer once again had to be the big brother.

"Ok! Shut the fuck up, kids!" he said. "There are some different ways to settle this. We could go to the water park first, and then head back here and watch movies until we fall asleep." He looked around the table. "Or we could split up, and everyone can do what they want. We aint joined by the hip here, you know."

The younger teens contemplated this for a moment. They looked around at each other, and eventually seemed to make up their minds.

"Water park!" Tyson and Max yelled cheerfully. "Slide race! Bladebreakers versus Demolition Boyz!"

"You are so doomed, kids!" Ian stated. "I'm undefeated in slide races! Bry, you got my back, right?"

"_Da_. They're going down," the falcon agreed. They looked at Spencer. The whale finally nodded.

"I'll tag along to keep you guys in line."

"Hm, I think I'll go too," Rei said. "It doesn't seem fair to have three Russians against two of us." He looked at Kenny. "Chief?"

The brunette thought about it for a moment.

"Hm, I might as well go," he said. "I heard that their sauna is really good. I didn't get to try it when we were there last time."

"That leaves sourpuss one and two," Ian said and looked at Kai and Tala.

"I'd appreciate if you'd stop calling me that," Tala snorted. "You've got a few things about you I'd love to call you."

The serpent growled at him, and Bryan put a hand over his mouth to shut him up. Spencer looked at his redheaded brother.

"Why can't the two of you just behave?" he whined. "You're like a couple of kids in a fucking sandbox!"

"He started it!" Tala defended himself. Ian stuck his tongue out at the wolf, and got a menacing growl back. "Goddamned midg-!"

Kai put a hand over his mouth as well. He looked at his big brother.

"I think I'll stay here and just chill out. Plus I'm expecting a call from Moscow sometime during the day." He looked at Tala. "You can tag along with the others if you want. I probably won't be any fun to hang with today. If Feodor calls, I'll be stuck on the phone for at least two hours, maybe more. My employees needs to be taken care of, and I probably have a bunch of angry relatives on my tail now."

The wolf looked at him with narrow eyes, pursing his lips.

"Movies sound like a good idea to me. Well, it was after all _my_ idea from the start. I'll chill out here."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you when I'm stuck in a telephone conference. 'Cause you'll have to shut up and behave."

"What, you don't think I can, Mr. 'I-own-a-multinational-bad-ass-company-and-I'm-so- important'?"

"No, I don't."

"_Mudak_." [2]

"_M__orkovʹ verhnyeĭ ._" [3]

The others interfered before they could exchange more colourful insults, and lead them out of the dining hall and back to the rooms. While they gathered their swimming shorts, Ian made it clear that he was expecting them to behave. They left them alone in an annoyed state against their better knowledge, and would not be pleased if there was any injuries when they came back. Kai sat down in an armchair and waved at them to back off and leave him alone. Tala snorted and planted himself on the couch, for all looking like he wouldn't move if an a-bomb hit the place. Eventually all the Demolition Boyz heading for the water park were all set and left the room to drag the Bladebreakers with them.

Kai seemed a little restless, Tala could tell by the fact that he, from one of his pockets pulled out his old signature switchblade and started to fiddle around with it. The blade appeared with a click, and disappeared again. It spun around his fingers in an almost mesmerizing manner. He actually thought that Kai had lost it a long time ago. But apparently not. If it wasn't Dranzer, it was the knife. It had always been that way. He was just about to say something when the phoenix's phone rang. Kai answered it and put it on speaker, still spinning the knife around.

"_Da, Feodor?_" he said as a greeting. "_How's it going?_"

/_Privyet, mr. Hiwatari_,/ Feodor said on the other end. /_Things are going according to plan. The three hostages have been admitted to a psychiatric ward for the time being. Their mental state was too fragile to just leave them on their own._/ [4]

"_Hn. And what about the other families?_"

/_The funerals are being arranged, and will probably be held around the end of this week. The relatives want compensation for their losses. They have asked for about four millions all together. But they do not wish to press charges against you for getting their family killed. We have explained the situation, and the former executive was arrested for involuntary manslaughter yesterday. We have frozen all his accesses for the time being_./

"_Good. Give them the money. And make sure that idiot gets what he deserves_."

/_Give them the money? Sir, it's four __**millions**__! Dollars!_/

Kai jammed the blade in the table and gave out a hiss.

"_Four millions is a petty sum compared to the value of a human life, Feodor! Head out of the wallet, please_."

/_My apologies, sir. I will see to it immediately. Are you returning to Russia anytime soon? If you will forgive my rudeness, your staff and your employees miss you_./

"_Miss me? That, I __**don't**__ believe. But no. I won't be back for at least two months. I am needed in a very tricky situation. With my old friends, if you remember?_"

/_Oh, da. _/

"_Is there anything else going on over there that I should be aware of? I do __**not**__ want to fly around Europe with a gun to threaten people to do what I want, just because someone fucked up_. _I've got other things to do at the moment_."

/_We have hired a new manager for the Regal Hotel in St. Petersburg. He has an excellent resume, and it is our hope that he can bring that hotel back to it's former glory._/

"_Good. Keep me updated on the progresses. And I'll call when I'm coming back_."

/_Certainly sir. Do svi danye_./ [5]

"_Do svi danye, Feodor_." He hung up, and sat still for a while, frowning and blade spinning around his fingers still. Then he shook his head and folded the knife and put it back in his pocket. He looked over at the wolf, who was studying him with a rather sly grin.

"_I forgot how sexy you are when you play around with sharp objects like that_," he said. "_You make it look so easy, and so menacing. It really turns me on, you know._"

Kai smirked.

"_Always a sucker for the bad boys, aren't you?_" he said. "_I can show you, if you want._"

Tala shook his head.

"_As far as I remember, the last time you tried to show me I ended up almost cutting my fingers off_."

"_Big bad Tala scared of a little knife?_" Kai teased. The wolf blushed, the phoenix grinned. He got up from his armchair and sat down astride Tala's legs. "_Or is he scared of __**Kai**__ with a little knife?_" He leaned in and kissed him lightly, giving his lower lip a little nip before he pulled away. Tala bit his lip and looked at his boyfriend with an arched brow.

"_A little bit of both,_" he admitted. "_But that doesn't change the fact that you really turn me on when you do that_."

"_Guess I'll have to do something about it then_."

He grabbed the front of Tala's jacket and pulled him close. He pressed a demanding kiss on his lips. Soon all surroundings became a blur, as the heat rose in them. This time it wasn't really clear who was dominant. They battled each other for the position, amidst trying to cover every patch of skin in warm caresses, tongues and kisses. Somehow they ended up in Tala's bed – thankfully for Bryan, because his bed was next to Tala's and they almost landed in it. Their lips hardly even separated when they had to get air, as eager hands ran over both their bodies. Eventually Kai came out the winner and got back at Tala for his soreness after their first time. Complete with a nice hickey and teeth-mark on his neck – as another revenge, from the morning in Moscow. But Tala was too busy being overwhelmed with pleasure to notice the phoenix's little vengeance. The climax was a violent one, and the sweat poured off them both as they sunk into the mattress – exhausted. Kai pulled the cover over them, and Tala pulled him close, so that he came to lay with his head on Tala's chest. He could hear and feel the rapid heartbeat and the gasping breaths as the wolf tried to calm down. He smiled and kissed the moist skin, feeling the salty and the vanilla-like taste that was Tala's own. He chuckled, and the wolf made a wondering sound.

"_Thank God we didn't go this far this morning_," he smiled. "_Or, more correctly; thank God I put my hand over your mouth_."

Tala blushed, but started chuckling as well.

"_Da. How do you think the guys would've reacted if they woke up in the middle of it_?"

"_They'd kill over!_" He pulled himself up on an elbow and kissed the wolf on the cheek. "_I know they have a really_..._ vivid imagination, but I'm quite sure they are in total denial of us actually having a body past our hips_."

"_Or the knowledge of how to use it_," Tala chuckled. "_But I mean, what's a boy to do when he wants to make love to his sinfully gorgeous boyfriend?_"

"_Make love?_" Kai laughed out loud. "_Tala, come on! I really don't think what we did this morning, or now, or anytime really, qualifies as 'making love'. I think the term 'fuck' is more appropriate_."

"_Oh, be that way then!_" Tala snorted. "_I was just trying to be a bit romantic for once_."

Kai laughed again, and kissed him softly on the dry lips.

"_You aren't exactly the romantic type, moya krasavitsa,_" he grinned. "_And I'd be really freaking scared if you actually tried. I like you the way you are._" [6]

"_Good, I was scared that I'd have to start buying you flowers and stuff._"

"_Do that, Tala my love, and you're dead_. _I hate that stuff_."

"_Ditto_." He yawned and stretched. "_God, I need a shower_."

"_Me too_."

"_Then what are we waiting for?_"

Xxx xXx xxX

At the water park, the Demolition Boyz and the Bladebreakers had occupied one of the sauna rooms. The Asian team had learned that being friends (sort of) with the Demolition Boyz had it's advantages. The Russians simply walked in and glared, and the room magically emptied. Now they were sitting on the different ledges, engaged in the swkward activity of befriending each other. It wasn't easy, of course. The Bladebreakers were still somewhat intimidated by the three Russian bladers, and the Demolition Boyz were in their turn somewhat bewildered by the fact that the Asian team still flinched whenever they made a sudden move.

Max looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I wonder what really happened in Sicily," he said.

The Russians looked at each other, thinking whether or not to tell them. Eventually Ian spoke.

"Well, it aint too hard to figure out, kids," he said. "He went there, talked some sense in to them and got his people out. Simple as that."

"Then why did he have to bring a weapon?" Rei questioned.

"Ever heard of self defense, kitty-boy?" Bryan retorted.

"What if he killed someone with it?" Tyson said. "I mean, he hasn't said two words about it since he got back, and it haven't even been on the news. His company's got money enough to cover it up."

"Oh, gimme a break!" Spencer snorted. "Does Kai look like a killer to you?"

"Well," the dragon retorted. "It was you guys who said he could nail a fly at a fifty feet distance with it."

The falcon sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Being a good shooter doesn't necessarily mean you're a killer. Our kid brother doesn't like the idea of killing. If he even fired a shot at _all,_ it'd probably just be to disarm someone."

"You're being stupid!" Ian stated. "It aint really nice of ya to accuse your friend of being a murderer. Especially not in front of his family. Yeah, he's messed up in a lot of ways, but so are we. You'd have to be a fucking imbecile not to be, after the childhood we had. He aint a murderer. Got it?"

"What really happened in there?" Max asked curiously.

The Russians looked at each other.

"The less you kids know, the better," Spencer said. "All you really need to know is that Balkov Abbey is hell on earth."

Rei looked thoughtful, and then he looked over at the sweating Russian teens.

"Was it really smart of us to leave them alone?" he asked. "I mean, they seemed to be a bit irritated. Last time Kai ended up with a busted knee."

Bryan chuckled.

"Those two are always bickering," he said. "It's what they do. Yeah, sometimes it gets a bit violent, but they usually settle it after a few punches or kicks. They've always been like that. As long as no one calls Tal a 'cyberbrain' or Kai... well, Kai gets really pissed off if you call him 'freak'. And if you insult Dranzer, you are dead meat."

"They're probably watching movies and eating chips, or sometin'," Spencer said.

Ian laughed.

"Yeah. Right. Tala's been after Kai since he was god knows how young. I think our little brother is busy keeping the wolf away from him." He got up and looked at the others. "How 'bout another race? Last round was our win. Who's up for a re-match?"

They all ran back to the pools and threw themselves in the water.

Xxx xXx xxX

A few hours later they came back to the hotel, tired and hungry but high-spirited. The Bladebreakers went to their own room to rest for a few hours before dinner was served. The Demolition Boyz went into their room to do the same. Or, well, Spencer opened the door, stopped, and gave an affectionate chuckle. Bryan and Ian tried to look over his shoulder (well, Ian tried to look past his legs) to see what was going on. Spencer turned to his younger brothers.

"_The wolf caught his prey_," he said in a low voice. "_Keep quiet_."

He stepped aside, and the falcon and the serpent got a good look at the room. Everything was in order, and the sight of the two teens asleep in Tala's bed, naked to their waists, was quite heartwarming. They both laid on their sides and the wolf had his arm around the phoenix's shoulder. They went in as quiet as they could, not only out of respect for the sleeping teens, but also because they knew that Tala would have their heads if they woke Kai up. The phoenix still didn't sleep more than a maximum of three hours a night, and they saw how much strong coffee it took to keep him on his feet. They sat down on the couch and were just about to turn on the tv, and lower the volume as fast as they possibly could, when Kai's phone rang. The phoenix was wide awake in a split second, and reached out his hand to the bedside table and got hold of the hellish device. Tala murmured something in his sleep, still holding on to Kai. The phoenix tried to wriggle free, but that was pretty much impossible.

"_Da?_" he answered, rather annoyed. "Oh, hi dr. Evans." He managed to sit up. "Yes, I'm ok. No I – No. How much sleep? Uhm, maybe... three hours. I know that's not enough! I'm not retarded, you know. Yes, I have the pills with me. No I don't over-use them. I've taken like – what – four of them during the last two weeks. Well, _you_ were the one who said I'd be a junkie if I took them every day. What's the sudden change of heart? Say _what_? Un_-fucking-_believeable! I don't want to, and you can tell them to shove that opinion up their ass. And then you can ask them if _they_ enjoy constant headaches, nightmares, memory losses and hallucinations. Because _I_ sure as hell _don't_! Therapy? Fuck it, Evans! We've been over this already. I'm not going to see a fucking shrink, ok? The deal was that I won't have to, as long as I can keep together well enough to lead my team. And so far I have _not_ cracked. I intend to keep it that way. What do you mean I should do it for my own good? I'm _refusing_ it for my own good! I don't want someone trying to figure me out like I'm some kind of exotic animal, or a freaking puzzle or something." He yawned and shook his head. "What I was doing? Sleeping actually. No, I haven't taken a pill. How I managed to sleep? I got a big, bad, pet wolf to keep me company. He's called Tala, and he's my boyfriend. You do the math, doctor. I'm going back to sleep now. Bye." He fell back down on the pillows. "_Fucking doctors!_"

Tala moved slightly next to him ,and opened his blue eyes a little.

"_The hell are you yelling about?_" he complained. "_And why the hell are you even awake?_"

The phoenix sat back up and rubbed his neck. He looked over at his older brothers, who tried to look occupied and not like they'd been listening to the call.

"_Well, first because our lovely family stomped in here like a herd of fucking musk-oxen_," he said. "_And second because that brain-dead doctor of mine called to cross-question me about my sleeping and my pills. I mean, for fucks sake, he knows I'm on a freaking vacation. Shouldn't he be smart enough to get that I'm trying to chill out for once?_"

Tala sat up and looked at his brothers.

"_Privyet, guys_," he said, and ran a finger through his now rather messy red hair. "_Had fun at the water park?_"

Ian grinned and looked insinuating at them.

"_Probably not as much fun as __**you**__ guys seemed to have had_."

"_Oh, fuck off, Ian_," Tala snorted. "_I'm not in the mood for your bitching_."

"_Bitching?_" the violet-haired teen said, smirking. "_Interesting that you should say that. Isn't there a theory about submissive partners in gay relationships? Who's the bitch of you two?_"

"_You, if you don't shut your trap_,"Kai warned. "_Although, midgets don't really do it for me._"

Ian growled and threw himself at the two teens in the bed. And from there things went downhill. They showed up for dinner half an hour late. Bryan was holding Ian by the neck of his shirt. Spencer was holding Kai and Tala back as best he could. They sat down at opposite end of the table after shoving the Bladebreakers on to other chairs. The three teens involved in the argument glared death at each other over the edges of their menus.

"Uhm, what's going on?" Max asked.

"Just a little family argument," Bryan said.

**Xxx xXx xxX**

_Prosty menya _means 'forgive me'

_Mudak_ means 'asshole'. I'm sure I've translated that once before...

_Morkovʹ verhnyeĭ _means 'carrot top'. Cute, isn't it?

_Privyet_ means 'hello'

_Do svi danye_ means 'good bye'

_Moya krasavitsa_ means 'my beautiful one'

I will publish the remaining chapters as soon as I've finished editing them. They'll most likely show up here two or three at a time. So bear with me, you shan't have to wait forever for the complete story^^


	13. Of popes and poets

**Warnings: **For basic warnings, see chapter one please. Additional warnings for this chapter:

**Xxx xXx xxX**

The next day, they left the city of Paris for the warmer climate of Rome. Kai and Tala had slept in the Bladebreakers' room that night since the argument had been going on and off during the entire evening and no one wanted to take the risk of having a dead Ian in the morning. In the end, Spencer had simply shoved the two lovers in to the other room, and told them to 'stay there and fucking behave'.

Now they were awaiting the boarding, and endured being stared at by people passing by. The Demolition Boyz didn't seem to pay it any mind, occupied with bickering loudly in their native tongue as per usual. Kai had put his Ipod on, and merely threw a glance at his brothers every now and then. Tala sat next to him and rubbed a suspiciously reddish purple mark on his neck. He had _not_ been happy when he saw it in the mirror that morning, and he intended to make the phoenix pay for it later. The Bladebreakers were just generally excited, and Tyson was rattling out names of pizzas and pasta dishes he wanted to try as some sort of verbal machine gun fire.

It wasn't that difficult to discern why they were being stared at; having the main heroes and villains of the beyblading world not only in an airport together, but actually _getting along_ with each other, was something quite unheard of. After a while, though, they began to feel like animals at the zoo, and were quite relieved when it was finally time to board. The flight only took a little over an hour, and this time the Demolition Boyz were happy to give up the window seats. The weather was far from pleasant, with dark storm-clouds and curtains of rain filling the horizon, and they were happier the less they had to see of it. After touch down, and a ridiculously long wait for their luggage, they headed to the hotel.

This one was also one of Kai's, and before they went in they saw him taking a deep breath and planting a welcoming smile on his lips. Or, well, as welcoming as a smile could be coming from Kai Hiwatari. As soon as they opened the doors, Kai was almost trampled by a loud group of people greeting him, shoving each other out of the way and trying to get close enough to give the bluenette the customary kisses to the cheeks. What amazed the Bladebreakers the most, though, was the fact that their captain put up with it. He actually_put up_with women and men kissing his cheeks and shouting greetings in his ear. Somehow, he managed to move the whole crowd forward towards the reception, and even sort of keep smiling, though it was admittedly starting to look a bit strained. Luckily, he was saved by the manager, a tall man with greyish hair, who came to greet them. A sharp order in melodious Italian had the people scampering away in all directions. Kai let out a sigh, and the smile quickly faded away.

"Good day, Mr. Balducci," he said and took the man's hand. "Grazie. They were beginning to suffocate me."

"Buongiorno, Mr. Hiwatari," Mr. Balducci smiled. "My apologies for the staff's overenthusiastic greetings. They are very happy to see you again, and I believe your decision to give them free health-care insurances might have something to do with it. You are an angel to them."

"Hardly," the phoenix answered calmly. "But people will work better if you take good care of them. Now, we are nine people. What rooms can you offer?"

"The penthouse suite, of course!" the man exclaimed. "Who else is more entitled to it but you? It has three bedrooms, a living room, three baths and a small kitchen."

"Yes, I remember you showing it to me last time I was here. Alright, let's go then. Key-cards to everyone."

"Certainly, sir. Will you be needing anything else?"

Kai thought about it for a moment.

"Get a hold of a car. We'll probably be exploring the whole town, and it gets a bit tiring to walk after the first three hours. Especially when everyone are insisting on going in opposite directions. A car will save us some time."

The manager laughed and handed them the cards. In the elevator up to the top floor, the grey-haired man looked at his smaller superior.

"I have the reports for last year. We appear to have earned a winning of about two and a half, during the last six months. That makes the total sum around three and a half. But as I said, I have the numbers on it if you would care to look at them."

"Bring them to me when we've unpacked and got settled a bit."

"Sí, sir."

The penthouse suite was located behind a pair of massive double doors. The decorating inside made the rooms at the hotel in Paris seem like something out of a trailer-park. They gaped in pure awe, but Kai just threw a few quick glances around him.

" I see you've re-decorated," he said.

"Sí, sir. We have made a note never to give a rock band access to our penthouse suite ever again."

"Hn. Good idea. Now, go get those papers so I can look through them before it gets dark."

The manager nodded and hurried back down the hall. The phoenix took his bag and went in to the nearest bedroom, where he unceremoniously dumped it on the floor beside the double-bed.

"My room," he said to his team when they walked after him. "If you want to have a chance to sleep, I'd suggest you take the one down the hall from here. Ian snores like a thunderstorm, and Spencer talks in his sleep."

The Asian team hurried to do as he said. Tala came in to the room with his bag over his shoulder. He smiled brightly when he noticed the only bed in the room, and the fact that the room had a _door._

"_Finally,_" he sighed in relief. "_Privacy_." He put his arms around his shorter love, and nuzzled his neck. "_And there's no window seat for you to sneak away to_."

"_So I've noticed_," Kai answered. "_But there is a kitchen. A kitchen chair is almost as good as a window seat_."

Tala snarled.

"_I thought we'd been over this, angel. If you wake up, you wake me up and I'll keep you company. Or make you fall back asleep. Whichever you prefer._"

The rest of the Russian family came in to the room and looked around.

"_Nice room_," Bryan said. "_Why did your team run down the hall like they had Boris hot on their tail?_"

"_I just told them that if they wanted to get any sleep, they should be as far away from you guys as possible_," the phoenix answered with an angelic tone. "_Because Ian snores so loud they can hear it in America, and Spencer talks in his sleep._"

"_I do not!_" the whale and the serpent replied simultaneously.

"_Da, you do,_" Tala said. "_And Bry falls off the bed every other fucking night_."

"_Aw, fuck you, Tala!_" Bryan snorted.

Xxx xXx xxX

Two hours later, Kai was rapidly becoming annoyed. He was going through the business reports, which was not a activity he cared much for at the best of times. Endless numbers in columns and calculations. Money coming into the company and money going out of it. Now, Kai was really good with numbers, but it made it all the more difficult to have both his team and his family watching him like hawks. Tala had dragged him to his lap and was currently putting his hands to good use by massaging his shoulders and neck. It was rather hard to keep concentrated. He scribbled down notes on a note pad, double checking the calculations every now and then. Then he felt a puff of Tala's hot breath against his ear, followed by a nibble at his earlobe. It sent shivers down his spine.

"Tala," he said without taking his eyes off the report. "Stop it." The other Russians smirked. "And stop smirking, you guys."

He stopped and re-read a part of the written report. With a curse, he scribbled down a note and made three exclamation marks after it. That had to be checked out. The numbers and the written report just didn't add up. Finally he finished reading, sighed of relief and rubbed his eyes.

"I hate business reports," he stated. "They always try to keep things hidden, so I gotta double check _everything._"

Tyson looked at his notes, with a brow arched in curiosity.

"What the hell are those things?" he asked and pointed to the note pad.

"Words and numbers," the phoenix answered. "It's Cyrillic, you moron."

"Cy-what?"

"Russian, you twerp," Bryan said. "The alphabet is called Cyrillic."

"Oh."

The phoenix stretched and gave out a sigh. Tala put his arms around his waist and rested his head on his shoulder. He glanced down at the pile of papers with numbers and complex calculations all over them.

"How the hell do you even manage to make sense of all that, angel?" he asked.

"Concentration, Tala," he said. "And a hell of a lot of training. I'm seriously getting a headache from it now, though."

He called the manager up, and started to question him about every single digit that didn't add up. The man started sweating after a while, offered to investigate further, and then went pale when Kai told him to send the reports to Feodor's staff – immediately. He left the room a lot less confident than when he'd arrived. Kai had told him to inform Enrique that they had arrived.

Xxx xXx xxX

The following day, the sightseeing of Rome began. Enrique picked them up at the hotel right after breakfast. They made a route, so that they could see all the places they wanted without being stressed. Of course, they wanted to see so many things that they had to make up a day to day schedule. First off for this day was a wish from the phoenix. He wanted to go to the Protestant Cemetery, to see the grave of one of his favourite writers; the poet John Keats. The others thought that it was quite depressing, but after being promised more cheerful activities afterwards, they agreed. It was an old cemetery, some of the head-stones were leaning in different directions, many were covered in moss and some were so old that the inscriptions were no longer visible. The phoenix made his way through the cemetery, until he found the headstone he was looking for. Tyson looked at the inscription, and then at his captain.

"You sure this is the right one?" he asked. "There's no name on it."

"It was his wish that they wouldn't put his name on it. They were given specific order to have this inscription made instead."

"Oh. So, what kind of poetry did he write?" Rei asked. "I mean, it was a century ago he lived. Didn't they write really cheesy things then?"

"_Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream,  
And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by?  
The transient pleasures as a vision seem,  
And yet we think the greatest pain's to die.  
How strange it is that man on earth should roam,  
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake  
His rugged path; nor dare he view alone  
His future doom which is but to awake,_ " Kai recited. "Some of his works are really fucking exhausting to read, but his shorter poems can be really good. And besides, I said he's _one_ of my favourites. I didn't say he's the _only_one I like. Anyway, I got what I came here for. Now we can go."

They made their way back to the car. On the way, they passed two other headstones that had the Russians laughing, and Tala looking mighty insulted. It was the tombs of two men named 'Ivanov', a philosopher and a painter. Since Tala didn't have much artistic skill, they found it hilarious, and asked if they were relatives of his, and maybe they got all the talent – and left none for him. The wolf growled at them to 'shut the fuck up or have your tongues ripped out'.

They went to the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel fascinated them all. The Bladebreakers gaped in awe of the extensive and incredibly detailed artworks. How someone could do those things with a brush and a bucket paint was beyond them. Kai and Tala kept a close watch on their brothers and quickly intervened when they were about to use more... _colourful_ words to describe how cool the building was. They were a bit freaked out, but mostly thrilled when Enrique told them about the catacombs _underneath_ the Vatican, with all the rumours and legends about old escape-tunnels, and other things like that.

"The popes are some really sneaky buggers," Ian stated. "Just wish they'd be a bit more open-minded about things though. Ya know, to some of them – not all, but some – I'm a creature of the devil. And that aint cool."

"Well, so am I, Ian," Tala said. "And Kai's coming straight outta hell. Crimson eyes aint exactly normal you know."

"What's wrong with my eyes?" the phoenix objected. "It's not my fault they look like this!"

Tala put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't dare to pull him close and nuzzle his hair in one of the most important buildings in Catholicism. He had a hunch that gay people weren't exactly loved by all here. Or bi's, for that matter.

"Your eyes are lovely, angel," he said. "But these people didn't admit that the earth moves around the sun, until 1992. So I'm afraid that they probably think your eyes are a bit fre- Eh, _unnatural_."

"You were gonna say 'freaky', weren't you?" Kai inquired, eyes narrowing. The wolf vigorously shook his head, and the other Russian teens drew closer, to prevent any trouble.

"You know I'd never say that!" he defended himself.

"Uh-huh," the phoenix snorted. "But still you did. And I oughta punch you for it. But we're in a church at the moment, so that'll have to wait."

Enrique came up to them and smiled.

"The pope's giving a blessing at the St. Peter's Square, if ya wanna see it."

The two teams looked at each other, and then they shrugged and nodded. The square was totally packed with people and they were shoved in every direction, before people noticed the menacing figures of the Demolition Boyz. Then they suddenly became very careful to give them some room – a real relief for Ian and Kenny. The two shortest boys had really had a hard time there for a while. Two giant screens showed a close up of the pope as he stepped out on his balcony.

"Whoa!" Ian exclaimed. "He looks like the fucking emperor in Star Wars!"

Enrique looked horrified, but the Russians, as well as the Asian team, started to giggle.

"Yeah," Tyson grinned. "He kinda does."

But they had to admit that it was kinda cool to be there and experience this thing. None of them were in any way religious, but the feelings flooding out of the believers around them were awe-inspiring. Especially Tala found the whole thing interesting, both for personal reasons, as well as more nerdy ones. He was childishly fascinated by religions. And Catholicism was one of his favourites. He read articles about the latest happenings in the Vatican, and the many embarrassing things people blurted out there. The rituals intrigued him; how they could build such an array of ways to worship some distant deity, of whose existence there was no evidence what so ever. Sometimes he wished he could have that kind of faith, but his life had efficiently severed him from any type of belief. The Abbey was about as far away from a house of worship as one could come, and he couldn't bring himself to get involved with anything that had the slightest thing to do with it.

Afterwards, they went to eat something. Enrique made sure that they all ate other things than pasta, with the motivation that the belief that they were all constantly eating pasta, was such a prejudice. And he also made sure to ban pizza with the same motivation, much to Tyson's displeasure. The blond Italian blader was as weird as usual, and he was constantly flirting with any girl passing by their table. Then he seemed to think of something, and turned to the two teams.

"How 'bout you guys comin' over to my house tomorrow, and we can blade in my new training hall. Oliver called the other day, and said you guys can't blade in public or whatever."

"That's true," Bryan said. "We're sort of supposed to be in hiding right now."

Enrique laughed.

"Some hiding!" he said. "Well, as I said earlier; if you really need to hide – just crawl down into the catacombs. They're a bit nasty, but it's a really good hideout."

"We'll keep it in mind," Tala smirked. The other Russians nodded in agreement, also smirking.

"Now, you said that the ice cream would be really good here," Ian said. "I really wanna try it."

"Do you ever think with your brain instead of your stomach, Ian?" Bryan sighed.

"Growing boys need to eat, Bry," he snorted.

"But you don't grow," Tala said. "You haven't for years."

Ian growled, and Kai smacked Tala in the back of his head.

**xXx xXx xXx**

Dusk is upon us! Soon the darkness will strike down and cover us all in it's anguishing, pitch black cloak.

Which basically means; here comes the Angst with capital A. this is where it get really shitting serious, and any sensitive readers are recommended to either stop reading this fic all together, or skip the next few chapters.

The poem Kai recites is one of Keat's more famous poems, called 'On Death'.

And about the pope admitting the earth to revolve around the sun; that's true. November of -92.

(And - sorry all Catholics out there - I really think Benedict looked like the emperor from Star Wars)


	14. Of devastation and despair

**Warning:** for basic warnings, see chapter one. Additional warnings for this chapter: **Violence and suicidal situations**. Sensitive readers are advised to skip chapter or stop reading this fic! It will get worse before it gets better. **Ye have been warned!**

**Xxx xXx xxX**

They had said goodbye to Enrique earlier that day and were now mingling with Italian youngsters at a busy club in Rome. The age limit was only sixteen, much to the Demolition Boyz' delight. After a few (well, a lot of) drinks (and in the Bladebreakers case, sodas), Tala let go of Kai, and dragged Max and Tyson out on the dance floor. Kai remained in the corner, arms crossed and smiled at the redhead's antics. He looked absolutely gorgeous when he moved with the music. Every now and then he looked over at his blue-haired love and smiled brightly. Kai couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart when he saw the other teen so happy. Max and Tyson managed to drag both Rei and Kenny out on the floor as well. Rei laughed and danced, and Kenny looked frightened and was shoved back and forth by the crowd. Ian, Spencer and Bryan also watched the teens and their 'dancing', with some amusement.

"_I'm so freaking glad you two finally hooked up,_" Bryan said to Kai. "_He's been drooling over you since we were like...shit, like twelve or something._"

Kai nodded.

"_Well, at least I know I can trust him._"

"_Yeah, our little clown out there would cut his heart out before letting you down._"

The others nodded their agreement. Ian suddenly gave a lopsided smile and tilted his head a little to the side.

"_But I actually didn't think you were in to guys, Kai,_" he said. "_Well, actually, I didn't think you were in to girls either. I kinda just saw you as Kai, the loner._"

"_Hell, we all did_," Spencer replied. And then he grinned. "_And it was driving Tala fucking crazy, I can tell you._"

"_Yeah, you should have fucking heard him, some of the times he got frustrated. It was damned right hilarious._"

"_Oh, I can picture it,_" Kai smirked. "_I just wish he would stop being so fucking clingy. He's like a freaking band aid._"

"_Tell me about it! We're just glad he's clinging to you now, instead of us._" Bryan chuckled. "_But he's gonna drive you fucking mad. You know that, right?_"

"_Not if I drive him mad first. I know how he works, and I'm more stubborn than him._"

They laughed and drank to that.

Tala looked at his lover, sitting in the corner as usual, but smiling widely and even laughing a bit. A heat wave ran through his body at the sight. Kai was so god damned hot when he smiled, and his laughter was always so wonderful to hear. It had a tone to it, suggesting that he was laughing at something you didn't know, and his crimson eyes would glitter in amusement, teasingly and tempting. Maybe now he could plant a new hickey on him, and actually get to see the effect on the phoenix. He hadn't gotten a chance since they got together; Kai watched his neck closely now. Their first kiss had been the most passionate experience he ever had. And all that had come after that had been, well, completely fucking _amazing_. The comfort, the hugs and kisses, and the sex. Oh, God – the sex! It was beyond his dreams. Sometimes Tala would wake up in the early morning hours and look at him the few times he slept, gently stroking the light blue bangs out of his face. He looked so soft and fragile when he actually fell asleep, none of the icy, displeased look he had while awake would be even traceable in his face. Those were moment of pure happiness that Tala Ivanov had hardly ever dared to dream of. But the concerns he had for his phoenix's mental health were great. He was hard as a rock, but still as fragile as a crystal glass.

Kai felt a vibration in his pocket, and pulled out his phone. It was a call from Moscow, from Feodor, whom he knew didn't call him unless it was important, and so he hurried to answer. He got up from the table, left the big room where the dance floor and the deafening music was, went through the lounge area right inside the front door and stepped outside to hear what the other man said. The glass door shut silently behind him, and suddenly everything was so quiet, so peaceful. He walked about twenty feet from the entrance to better hear the man on the other side. The reception was terrible, he knew it, so he took no chances.

"_Hn?_" he answered.

"_Good evening, Mr. Hiwatari_," said the voice in the other end. "_This is Feodor. How are you?_"

"_Drowning in drunk Italian brats. But other than that, I'm well_."

"_I'm glad. I'm calling because of a delicate situation that has developed in the Regal Hotels management_."

"_What kind of delicate situation?_"

"_It appears that the new manager of the hotel in st. Petersburg is swindling us for money. And..._"

"_Da?_"

"_And he is passing that money on to a project that we know goes against everything you believe in._"

"_And that is?_"

"_Balkov Abbey._"

Kai hissed and closed his fist, and slammed it in to the wall, to try and release some of the anger.

"_Fire him __**immediately**__, and make sure he doesn't ever get another penny. And then file a police report for fraud. Call me back when it's done. I trust you can make sure he is taken care of for good._"

"_As you wish, Mr. Hiwatari. We shall see to it right this minute_."

"_Good. __Dobryĭ vecher__, Feodor._" [1]

"_Dobryĭ vecher._"

He hung up and let out a string of curses, his crimson eyes reflecting his irritated state of mind.

"What else can go wrong tonight?" he muttered.

Xxx xXx xxX

Tala felt slightly intoxicated, his spirit high, close to borderline hubris. He also felt a tad horny, and wanted to find Kai to see if he would agree to a good snuggling session. He went out to the lounge to find the elusive phoenix, but he was nowhere in sight. Tala sighed. Kai always disappeared, it seemed to be his main characteristic sometimes. Suddenly he would just be gone, without a trace. It was so damned frustrating! He looked around the lounge and found Rei sitting on a low sofa, looking a bit tired, and awfully cute. Everyone was cute when Tala had been drinking. He went over to the feline and sat down beside him.

"Hey Rei, have you seen Kai?"

The Chinese looked up at him and shook his head. Then he frowned, and nodded.

"Well, actually yes. He went out a while ago. I think he got a phone call or something. He was looking at his phone when he left."

Tala pouted. Damned Kai to go missing when he wanted to cuddle. Then he shrugged.

"Having fun?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Rei smiled back. "But my ears are starting to hurt a bit. I'm not really used to music being this loud."

Tala didn't respond. He had fixed his blue orbs on Rei's golden ones, with a curious look and his head tilted to the side. Rei frowned a little when the wolf kept staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Tala stopped staring and smiled at him, a rather mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You're cute," he said. "Your girlfriend is so lucky!"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"No? Why the hell not?"

"I don't know, haven't really met anyone I liked."

"So you're not gay then?"

"I don't think so."

"Hm," the wolf said. "What a loss to the queer community. Ever kissed a guy?"

"No."

"Really? Not even in 'truth or dare'?"

"No, I never got that dare."

Tala pouted again, but then he smiled. His eyes were glowing with an emotion Rei couldn't really define, and this worried him. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't good. And before he could react, he felt the Russian's burning lips against his own. Tala held a firm grip on his hair, not allowing him to break free from it.

Rei started to panic. Tala Ivanov - lead evil Russian, psycho Demolition Boy and Kai's boyfriend - was making out with him. His kisses were hot and passionate, and Rei's lips answered them even though his mind did not want them to. He knew that this was completely wrong, and that it would hurt Kai to death if he ever found out. Not to mention that Rei would lose several of his nine lives in the process. The temperature in the room started increasing, until it was almost scorching. But they failed to pick up on the warning. He tried again to break free from the redhead's embrace and get the hell away from there, _fast_.

Too late.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" the voice was cold as a Russian blizzard. They looked up.

"Kai!" Rei blurted out when he saw just who it was that had interrupted them. Tala's face went wicked pale and he tried to say something, but no words would come.

"What's the matter, Tala? _Cat_ got your tongue?" the phoenix said as he stood there, arms crossed and a brow arched. Other than that, his face revealed no emotion of any kind; it looked like a mask. Rei felt the fear taking hold of him. Tala tried to speak again, but a menacing hiss from the bluenette shut him up. This scared Rei even more. Tala always knew something to say, something to do, no matter what the situation. But now, he just sat there, fear and shame written all over his face.

It seemed as if all the light in the room vanished in to the crimson orbs of the figure in front of them. They burned with an expression that was beyond rage. Hatred could perhaps be a better description.

"So. _This_ is what you mean by love, Tala? This is what you mean by 'forever and beyond'." he hissed. "You _sicken_ me, you deceiving little whore."

He turned that murderous gaze to Rei.

"And you. _You!_ I trusted you. If you _ever_ dare to speak to me again, I will kill you. You backstabbing piece of _shit_!"

He turned around and started to walk away. He only got a few steps away before Tala grabbed his wrist to try and stop him. He turned around lightning fast and hit the wolf so hard across the face, it sent him flying several feet and crashing in to the wall. The door slammed shut with such force that the inch-thick glass exploded, sending sharp bits of broken glass flying in to the lounge.

Minutes later the other teens showed up. They stared in horror at the two guys before them. Tala laid spread like a discarded rag in the corner, knocked unconscious by the impact. Rei was curled up against the wall, an expression of true terror in his golden eyes.

"What the hell happened?" Bryan asked. "It sounded like a fucking explosion out here."

"K- Kai," was all Rei managed to say.

The Bladebreakers stared at the passed out wolf blader and on to the remains of the destroyed door.

"Kai did _this_?" Tyson asked, shocked.

Spencer walked up to Rei, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him in the air with one hand. Rei whimpered.

"What the _hell_ did you do, you mangy cat?" he growled. Rei was too frightened to even try defending himself.

Ian managed to wake Tala up. A big bruise started to appear over the left side of his face and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He blinked a few time to find focus and then looked at the others.

"O- ouch," he whimpered, touching his face.

"Ok, Tal," Ian said, feigning calm. "Just _what_ did you do?"

"I- I got a bit drunk. Things got a bit out of hand."

"'Out of hand' as in what?"

"As in ' I sort of kissed Rei'."

"_What?!_" six voices shouted, three of them in utter fury.

"You filthy little slut!" Bryan roared as he grabbed Tala by the front of his jacket, shaking him like a ragdoll. "You had a chance with _Kai_, the very guy you've been in love with for God knows how long, and you throw it away to make out with... _That!_" He pointed to Rei, who still hung by the collar from Spencer's huge hand.

"Good luck getting him to forgive you for this," Ian said, harshly. "How the hell could you even fucking _do_ this to him? You _know_ how unbalanced he is!"

"I oughta snap your little neck, cat boy," Spencer growled at Rei.

"Everyone calm the hell down!" Tyson ordered. "Where the hell is Kai?"

Panic emerged in the Russian teen's eyes.

"_Fuck!_" they yelled and headed for the door.

It took several minutes, however before they managed to get out of the club. A crowd had gathered, and they had to push their way through it. They made the twenty minute walk to the hotel in less than no time at all. The Russians had continued to scold both Tala and Rei the entire way, making horrid threats - involving castration, cutting out hearts and other such things. They barged in to his and Tala's room, hoping to find him there. But the room was empty, and Kai's belongings were gone. The only trace of him ever being there was his blue cellphone that had been left on the bed.

"This is _not_ good!" Ian exclaimed.

"He must have left a note or something," Max said, trying to sound hopeful and looked around the room.

"I don't think he's collected enough right now to write a fucking _note_," Ian answered.

"Then why did he leave his phone?" Tyson wondered.

"Because that would have helped us trace him. Leaving it means he doesn't want to be found. And that is bad shitting news."

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked in a shaky voice.

"The last time he went missing like this was in the Abbey, after Boris had beaten him half to death in front of both us, the other kids, and Voltaire. He had made a mistake. They laughed at him, mocked him, for being stupid enough to trust anyone."

"What happened?" Tyson asked, with a voice that clearly said that he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"He jumped the fence and disappeared. Boris sent us out to look for him." Ian said. " We found him an abandoned house, unconscious. And an empty bottle of pills in his hand."

"He... He tried to _kill_ himself?" Max cried out.

"Yeah," Spencer said. "And that situation was _nothing_ compared to this. He's known Tala all his life, and trusted him completely. It's probably the Abbey all over again, but ten times worse."

"We have to find him!" Kenny yelled.

The cellphone on the bed began to ring. The caller ID said 'Mr. D.' Tyson picked it up and put in on speaker.

"Kai?" Mr. Dickinson said in the other end. "Are you there?"

"No, Mr. D." Max said. "He's gone missing."

"Oh dear! I feared he would."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"I received a text-message from him a while ago. He said he was leaving the Bladebreakers, and that he was going away, and didn't plan on ever coming back."

"Aw, hell!" Bryan blurted out and slapped Tala across the face with the back of his hand. "If he is in any way hurt, or dead when we find him, Tala, I'm going to castrate you with a dull blade, and then I'm gonna gut you like a pig."

"Hurt or dead?" Mr. Dickinson asked worriedly. "Why do you say that?"

"Because he's attempted suicide before," Ian explained. "And he isn't really mentally stable right now."

"Oh dear. That poor boy! You must do anything you can to find him!"

"We're gonna try," Bryan said. "But it aint gonna be easy, seeing that it's two of his best friends that has betrayed his trust, and broke his heart in the process."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"Tala and Rei."

"Why, I _never_! Boys, how _could_ you do that?"

"That's the question on everyone's minds here," Ian said. "But we don't have any fucking time to waste. We've got to find him."

"Hurry up then! And call me when you find anything!"

They got in the car they had rented, forgetting everything about such petty things as seat belts, speed limits, or general traffic regulations. Bryan took the driver's seat and started the engine almost before everyone was within the vehicle.

"How the hell are we going to find him?" Max squealed. "Rome is _huge_! It can take days!"

"I don't think it will, kid," Spencer said in the seat next to him. "We just have to know what kind of place he would choose to hide in, and hope we get there in time."

"Well, _we_ don't know!" Kenny asserted. "We _never_ know where he goes. He just disappears."

"But we know," Ian said from the passenger seat. "Quiet places. Places where people don't go at this time of night."

"Cemeteries," Bryan said. "No one goes in to a fucking cemetery after nightfall."

"There's got to be hundreds of them!" Rei sighed. "Rome is a very old city, you know."

"Yeah," Ian said. "But I don't think Kai can find every single one of them. He has probably been in it before."

"The cemetery where that poet he liked – Keats, or whatever - was buried!" Kenny blurted out. "You know, the one where we laughed at the fact that there were two guys named Ivanov buried there. Remember? A painter and a philosopher. He thought it was ironic."

"That's gotta be it!" Bryan shouted. He made a sharp turn in the next crossing and the car raced through the Roman night. The cemetery was fifteen minutes away by car from their hotel. They refused to even think of the possibility of being too late.

Bryan stopped the car so abruptly that the the teens in the back seat slammed in to the backs of the front seats. But no one seemed to even care, because they were almost climbing over each other to get out of it and in to the darkened cemetery. They moved silently between the rows of headstones, trying to locate any sound possible. Eventually they heard the shrill cry of a phoenix, coming from a small clearing ahead of them and soon the scarlet glow of Dranzer was visible through the darkness. As they came closer they heard a voice speaking to the mythical bird. It was slurred, drowsy and barely even recognisable as the one of Kai Hiwatari. It sounded like the voice of someone falling asleep.

"I'm sorry, Dranzer," it said. "Someone will come and find you girl, I promise. Someone will take care of you."

The bitbeast cried again.

"No, I can't... I just _can't_ fucking do this anymore. I can't _fight_ anymore. It just hurts too _much_. I love you Dranzer, girl. But this is goodbye." The voice trailed off at the last words, like he was almost already sleeping.

A desperate cry from Dranzer made them dash towards the clearing.

"No, _Kai!_" both teams screamed in unison.

Bryan was the first to reach the bluenette. Kai lay on the ground under a tree, his eyes were closed and two scarlet pools were rapidly forming under his wrists. In one hand he held his switchblade. The falcon didn't hesitate for a second. He tore of his jacket and proceeded to cut long shreds of the fabric to use as bandages. He worked quickly, wrapping the cloth hard and tight to put pressure on the wounds. The large bitbeast shielded her blader with her flaming wings, crying in pain. Ian knelt on the other side of the unconscious boy, trying to get some kind of response. None came.

Spencer held Tala back with every bit of strength he had. The wolf was crying hysterically, screaming for the dirty blonde to let go of him. The Bladebreakers didn't know what to do. Kenny started sobbing, and Rei put his arm around the shorter boy – tears rising fast in his eyes as well.

"Come on, Kai!" Max begged. "Don't do this. Wake up, please!"

"Why isn't he waking up?" Tyson asked, panic etched in his voice.

Ian grunted and examined his friend closer.

"I think he's taken something again," he said. "Are you done with the tourniquets, Bry?"

The falcon nodded.

"Then _someone_ call a fucking ambulance, before we _lose_ him!"

Bryan went with the ambulance, and the rest of them got in the car. Spencer took the wheel and chased after the vehicle. Kenny called Mr. Dickinson and explained what had happened. The elder man was quite upset, and promised to be on the next plane he could find.

The ambulance had long since disappeared from sight, lights flashing and the sirens tearing the quiet night air in to shreds.

When they arrived at the emergency room, they found Bryan in a waiting room, pale as a sheet.

"Is... Is he still alive?" Rei asked.

Bryan nodded tiredly.

"He had a cardiac arrest on the way here, but they managed to get him back."

The whole group went pale from those words.

"Happy with yourself now, Tala?" Ian said coldly.

"I never ever meant to hurt him, Ian! I swear to God!"

"Yeah? Tell that to him. Oh, right, you _can't_, cause he's like an inch away from dying! We might lose our little brother, because you can't fucking control yourself when you drink!"

Tala collapsed in a chair, a storm of tears shaking his body. The other remained silent, but their thoughts all screamed the same thing; 'Pull through, Kai! Come back, we need you.'

**Xxx xXx xxX**

No, Kai is not being "emo". He's desperate, hurt, and in the middle of a mental breakdown. And Tala is an idiot.

It'll be dark for a while, so if you're sensitive to these darker and more taboo themes, I would actually recommend that you stop reading this fic all together. You can probably pop back in around the epilogue.

[1]_Dobryĭ vecher_means 'good evening'.


End file.
